DE PERE, WIS: Great Decisions is a nationwide program meant to bring together local, regional and national experts in an eight-week lecture series discussing international issues of interest to the community. St. Norbert College is hosting the public event for its 31st year in northeastern Wisconsin.
Topics for the series are selected by the Foreign Policy Association of America, and are intended to provide a local forum for discussion on current political and economic issues of the day. The speakers themselves are selected by participating colleges and universities. St. Norbert College is one of only two schools in Wisconsin that present the entire series. (UW-Milwaukee is the other.)
Following are the topics and speakers for 2013. All lectures will be held at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday evenings, in the Fort Howard Theater at the F. K. Bemis International Center on the St. Norbert campus.
Feb. 13
Iran Steven Dachi (pronounced Da-chee), Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
Where is Iran headed with its nuclear power program? Will it become a regional power and a threat to Israel or other Persian Gulf nations? Is its goal really peaceful nuclear energy? Dr. Dachi is an international affairs specialist, who served in the U.S. Foreign Service for 30 years in India and Brazil, later teaching South Asian and Afghanistan affairs at the Foreign Affairs Institute of the Department of State. In 2007, he represented the Department of State at a discussion on nuclear policy with Iranian officials at a meeting in Tunisia.
Feb. 20
Future of the Euro Marc Schaffer, (pronounced shay-fer) Assistant Professor of Economics, St. Norbert College
Schaffer answers the question of whether the Euro will continue its problems and eventually force the nations of the eurozone into dropping the concept of a unified currency. He received his B.A. from Augustana College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Western Michigan University.
Feb. 27
NATO Art Cyr, (pronounced sear) Director of the A. W. Clausen Center for World Business, Carthage College
Is NATO still relevant in an increasing regionalized world? Will it still survive as Europe increasingly flexes its independence from the United States? Dr. Cyr is the author of four books on foreign policy in Europe and Asia. He has served as president of the Chicago World Trade Center Association and vice president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.
March 6
China in Africa Lawrence Herzberg, (pronounced hers-burg) Associate Professor of Chinese, Calvin College
Since the 1970s, China has made efforts to influence various nations of Africa and gain a political foothold on that continent. Will it become a key player in African politics in the future? Dr. Herzberg received his B.A. from Lawrence University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University. He has authored three books on Chinese culture and recently produced a documentary film on China today.
March 20
Intervention Heinz Klug, (pronounced Hines-Kloog) Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School
Intervention takes humanitarianism to a different, more intense and more combative level than before. Can this tool be effective in the long term? Or is it only a short-term fix, while international diplomacy attempts to find a solution? Dr. Klug specializes on the World Court and is an international consultant. He is an honorary senior research associate in the School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was also a team member on the World Bank mission to South Africa on land reform and rural restructuring.
March 27
Egypt Ambassador Edward Walker, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates
Egypt experienced the euphoria of the Arab Spring, but its move toward a more democratic society has been brought back to earth under the pressure of outside influence and the strain of internal politics. How will it all end? Ambassador Walker is the Christian Johnson Professor at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. One of his many distinctions includes being the only U.S. official who has served as ambassador to both Israel and Egypt and as assistant secretary for the region.
April 3
Maritime East & S.E. Asia: Is Conflict with China Inevitable? Ambassador Alphonse La Porta, (pronounced Al-fonz La Porta) former U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia
Before serving in Mongolia for three years, Ambassador La Porta was president of the American Foreign Service Association. He was most recently president of the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO). During his 38 years of service in the diplomatic corps, he served overseas in Naples, Italy, as political advisor to the NATO commander for the southern region, New Zealand, Indonesia (twice), Turkey and Malaysia. He has also worked in Washington on the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and the UN specialized agencies, as well as in management.
April 10, 2013
Threat Assessment
The United States Army War College has committed to sending one of its professors to discuss the art of successful threat assessment that is so critical to projecting America’s future military, economic, and foreign policy needs. How is it accomplished? What is the view of the world threat assessment in the next few years?
An advance subscription for the entire Great Decisions series is available for $50 per person. Subscription includes admission to all eight lectures and a copy of the Great Decisions briefing book. The briefing book includes background information on the lecture topics and access to the association’s website, http://www.fpa.org, for resources, guides to topics and online discussion forums. Admission to individual sessions is also available for $5 at the door, and briefing books are available for $15.
For more information, contact the St. Norbert College Center for International Education at 920-403-4075, or go to http://www.snc.edu/cie/greatdecisions.html.
