WBEZ | The Chicago Club

12th Annual Gus Hart Lecture: Mexico Rising?

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:18:00 -0500

The second largest economy in Latin America, Mexico is undergoing rapid social, political, and economic change. A new generation of leaders is working to reclaim Mexico’s status as a dynamic and thriving global player. Yet the legacies of drug related violence, corruption, and a troubled educational system remain stubborn obstacles to success. Join the 2013 Hart Fellow Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg, one of Mexico’s most promising new leaders, in a discussion of Mexico’s growth and commitment to social development as it competes in the global economy.

Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg is the secretary of economic development for Mexico City where he is responsible for increasing foreign direct investment, creating a healthier and more equal society, and better connecting Mexico to the world. Previously, he served as Mexico’s minister of health, where he was celebrated for extending healthcare coverage to all Mexican citizens. He is a member of the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control, and is also a lecturer at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico (ITAM). Chertorivski holds a BA and a MS from ITAM, as well as a MPP from Harvard University.

Do Global Companies Need a Corporate Foreign Policy?

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:01:00 -0600

With supply chains and end markets spread across the globe, companies are now more vulnerable than ever to country and geopolitical risk. Against this backdrop, Stephanie Hare argues that today’s global company can reap significant benefits by developing a corporate foreign policy to align its values and priorities across all markets. However, there are different approaches that a corporation can take in formulating this identity. Should a corporation’s foreign policy embody the values of its home country, the country in which it does business, or an opportunistic hybrid of both? What is the business case to be made for or against these approaches? And what does the history of corporate diplomacy tell us about the prospects for success?

Stephanie Hare is the senior analyst for Western Europe at Oxford Analytica. Her work on corporate foreign policy with Professor Timothy Fort of George Washington University was the subject of a Council on Foreign Relations roundtable, featured in the Financial Times, and discussed at the Tällberg Winter Forum in Sweden. Her recent scholarly works include The Democratic Legitimacy of Euro-Area Bailouts, and Social Investment: The EU ‘Gold Standard’ and the Key to Future Prosperity. She has commented on European developments for BBC television and radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, El Pais, Clarin, and Xinhua. A French specialist, Hare advised on and appeared in the documentary Maurice Papon, itinéraire d’un homme d’ordre. She has taught history at Oxford University, where she held the Alistair Horne Visiting Fellowship. Hare holds a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received her MSc and PhD at the London School of Economics.

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Drone Warfare: The Unknown Costs

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:57:00 -0600

Over the last decade, drones have become a key tool in the US counterterrorism toolbox. But our technology may have outpaced our policy, with many questioning the program’s lack of transparency, morality, and long term political contributions. Please join The Chicago Council and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame for a conversation with General James Cartwright, led by Professor Michael Desch, on the strategic, legal, and ethical consequences of the controversial drone program.

General James Cartwright is the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the inaugural Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies at the Center for Security and International Studies, a senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and defense consultant for ABC News. He retired from active duty in 2011, after 40 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. Cartwright previously served as commander of the US Strategic Command, commanding general of the First Marine Aircraft Wing, and deputy commanding general of Marine Forces Atlantic. He is a distinguished graduate of the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, and he received his MA from the Naval War College.

Michael Desch is professor and chair of the department of political science at the University of Notre Dame, and a fellow of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. He is a founding director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs and the first holder of the Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and National Security Decision-Making at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Previously, he was director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, assistant director and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard’s Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, and a visiting scholar at the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California. He received his BA from Marquette University and his AM and PhD from the University of Chicago.

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Asia and the Great Convergence

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:56:00 -0600

The complex interaction of trade, capital, information, and technology is leading to an unprecedented level of human interconnectedness. This highly networked global society means record numbers of the world's population are moving into the middle class, especially in Asia. However, as illustrated by the global financial crisis, interconnectedness carries risks of contagion as well. Kishore Mahbubani argues that new policies and approaches to governance are needed to solve pervasive problems such as financial volatility and health and climate issues. How does Asia, which accounts for over 60 percent of the world’s population and a significant portion of the emerging global middle class, fit into this era of convergence?

Kishore Mahbubani is the dean and professor in the practice of public policy at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. From 1971 to 2004 he served in the Singapore Foreign Ministry, where he was permanent secretary from 1993 to 1998, served twice as Singapore’s ambassador to the UN, and in January 2001 and May 2002 served as president of the UN Security Council. Mahbubani is the author of Can Asians Think?, Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust Between America and the World, and The New Asian Hemisphere: the Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East. Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines have listed him as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world, and in 2009 the Financial Times included him on their list of the top 50 individuals who would shape the debate on the future of capitalism.

His most recent book, The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World, will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

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Pathways to Peace: America and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:57:00 -0600

Nearly two decades after Rabin and Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn, lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains elusive. The latest Israeli-Hamas conflict, the new Palestinian status at the UN, and the

2013 Israeli parliamentary elections are some of the latest developments to impact peace prospects. Offering insight from his extensive career in the Middle East, Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer argues that it is time for America to once again make a serious effort to advance Arab-Israeli peace. As President Obama begins his second term, what role should American diplomacy have in resolving this conflict? Join The Chicago Council and Ambassador Kurtzer as he outlines available policy options and offers perspectives on America’s role in facilitating peace.

The Honorable Daniel C. Kurtzer is a lecturer and the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle East policy studies at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Following a 29-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, he retired in 2005 with the rank of career-minister. From 2001 to 2005, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and from 1997 to 2001 as the ambassador to Egypt. He previously served as a political officer at the American embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv, deputy director of the Office of Egyptian Affairs, speechwriter on the policy planning staff, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and principal deputy assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research. He is the coauthor of Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East. He received his PhD from Columbia University.

His latest book, Pathways to Peace: America and the Arab-Israeli Conflict will be available for purchase and signing following the program.

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WHAT NEXT FOR THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE?

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:08:00 -0500

As November’s elections approach, the impending “fiscal cliff” of federal spending cuts and tax increases looms over the American economy, and uncertainty in Europe continues to add anxiety to U.S. markets. Can the eurozone survive? What will it take to keep the eurozone intact? How will European fiscal and financial policies affect the American economic landscape? Join The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Martin Feldstein for a discussion on the outlook for the U.S. recovery and policy after the election, risks of inflation, and the role of the Federal Reserve System.

Presented by Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University, and President Emeritus, National Bureau of Economic Research.

Please note: tickets will not be issued for this event. Your name will be listed at the registration desk.

CERN: What’s it all about?

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:33:24 -0500

Some scientists believe that the Higgs boson, a never-before-seen subatomic particle, is the fundamental building block of the universe that gives mass to matter. Recent high-energy particle experiments at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, have hinted at the existence of this "god particle." But what exactly is the Higgs boson and why do people call it the "god particle"? This program will highlight the importance of this subatomic particle and discuss what its discovery would mean for physics and society. The program will also present recent advances in Higgs boson research and the future directions of high-energy particle experimentation in Europe and the United States. Speaking at this event is Young-Kee Kim, deputy director of Fermilab and professor of physics at the University of Chicago.

China and the United States: A Contest for Supremacy?

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:21:43 -0500

The United States has been a dominant force in the transformation of the international system over the last century and the unrivaled source of global leadership in the post-Cold War environment. Today, the balance of power is shifting, and American leadership faces one of the greatest challenges of the modern era. In response to China’s growing economic strength and rising ambition, America is pivoting its strategic priorities from Europe and the Greater Middle East to Asia. Can the United States and China find common ground for cooperation in the international system, or do ideological differences and the nature of great power politics mean they are destined to be rivals? Join Professor Friedberg for the first program of the spring 2012 Chicago and the World Forum series as he examines the relationship between China and the United States and the implications for American leadership in the 21st century.

Aaron L. Friedberg is a professor of politics and international Affairs at Princeton University.

Please note that BUSINESS ATTIRE IS REQUIRED at the Chicago Club of Chicago.

Egypt: A Transition in Trouble?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:28:49 -0600

Egypt is at a crossroads. For eighteen days in 2011, a popular peaceful uprising spread across the country and ultimately forced President Hosni Mubarak to cede power to the military. But for a nation recovering from decades of political stasis and the recent throes of uprising, 2012 has thus far yielded increasingly polarized politics, tension, and public discontent. As Egyptians continue to rebuild their country amidst the two prevailing political forces—the military and the Muslim Brotherhood—how should we consider the government’s ongoing transition?

Join The Chicago Council for a conversation on Egypt’s pivotal developments, looming political and social challenges, and how the country’s critical transformation will affect the region. Participants include: Craig Charney is president of Charney Research; Ashraf Khalil, author and journalist; and the Honorable Frank G. Wisner, foreign affairs advisor, Patton Boggs LLP and former U.S. ambassador to Egypt. Rachel Bronson, vice president of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, moderates.

Business attire is required at The Chicago Club.

Ghosts of the Past: Atrocity Crimes, Diplomacy, and the International Criminal Court

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:25:58 -0600

During the atrocities that enveloped the Balkans twenty years ago, the United States led in creating a war crimes tribunal to render justice. The Clinton administration asserted its leadership again in building tribunals to investigate atrocity crimes in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. This international gamble to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes culminated in the establishment of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). All of these courts continue to adjudicate cases, but the future lies with the ICC as it expands its jurisdiction. Though it played a key role in negotiating the Rome Statute, the ICC’s treaty, the United States has not joined the Court. What challenges confront the ICC as it seeks the participation and cooperation of nation states, especially the United States? Will a powerful international justice system emerge in the years ahead? Join The Chicago Council on Global Affairs and David Scheffer as he discusses his experiences at the intersection of conflict, domestic politics, and diplomacy, and shares an insider’s perspective on the building of five war crime tribunals and America’s destiny with international justice.

David Scheffer is the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law at Northwestern University School of Law and the director of the Center for International Human Rights.