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**Please note that the views expressed by our guest lecturers do not necessarily reflect the views of The Institute of World Politics.**
About the lecture: In today’s competitive world our prosperity and our way of life depend on unity among the world’s democracies. Given the strength of the transatlantic economy and the success of NATO, the dynamic relationship between Europe and America is the engine of the global economy and the force supporting the rules-based world order. How we grow together or if we grow apart will determine our individual and collective fate. About the speaker: Michael Ryan served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy in the Pentagon following a distinguished career in the United States Air Force and the Senior Executive Service. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Colonel Ryan began his career as a fighter pilot flying the A-10 in Europe during the Cold War. His extensive background in World Affairs includes service at NATO headquarters, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, U.S. European Command headquarters, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a graduate of the French War College in Paris, was a National Defense Fellow at the U.S. Congress, and is a Distinguished Graduate of the Joint Military Intelligence College. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations and has lectured extensively in Europe and the United States. His latest articles on transatlantic relations appeared recently in The National Interest.
The 24th Annual Pearl Harbor Day Lecture. About the lecture: The discussion will examine the current security environment, the growth of Chinese military capabilities, and efforts by the United States and its allies and partners to strengthen deterrence and compete more effectively below the threshold of armed conflict. About the speaker: General Joseph L. Votel is a retired U.S. Army Four Star officer and most recently the Commander of the U.S. Central Command – responsible for U.S. and coalition military operations in the Middle East, Levant and Central and South Asia. During his 39 years in the military, he commanded special operations and conventional military forces at every level. His career included combat in Panama,Afghanistan and Iraq. Notably, he led a 79-member coalition that successfully liberated Iraq and Syria from the Islamic State Caliphate. He preceded his assignment at CENTCOM with service as the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and the Joint Special Operations Command. Votel was recognized with the Distinguished Military Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council, the U.S. – Arab Defense Leadership Award from the National Council on U.S. – Arab Relations, the Patriot Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, the SGT James T. Regan Lifetime Achievement Award from the “Lead the Way” Foundation and the Freedom Award from the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. In January of 2020, General Votel became President & CEO of Business Executives for National Security (BENS). He is a Strategic Advisor for Sierra Nevada Corporation as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for Noblis Corporation. Votel is a nonresident Distinguished Fellow at the Middle East Institute and the Belfer Center at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and advises the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. He sits on the Executive Board of Freedom House and the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL). He serves on the Board of Directors for Service to School, Minnesota Wire, Digital Force Technologies and Owl Cyber Defense. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Votel is a 1980 graduate of the United States Military Academy and earned master’s degrees from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the Army War College. He is married to Michele; and they have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. The Votels reside in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.
About the lecture: The May 2021 conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas generated headlines around the world. However, much of the reporting ignored the history, funding, political dynamics, and other key components of the story. Jonathan Schanzer explores the hidden headlines of the recent conflict, while drawing lines between the history of decades past and current events in one of the most volatile territories in the Middle East. About the speaker: Jonathan Schanzer, former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president for research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is the author of the new book Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War. Purchase book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1956450017/.
About the lecture: Just because the “Russian collusion” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former US President Donald Trump turned out to be a hoax, it doesn’t mean that Russia did not intervene in 2016 election, and in two subsequent elections. Not only Moscow’s covert influence operations poisoned American politics, the Kremlin also sowed confusion about the real Russian threat to the United States. In today’s presentation, Ms. Koffler will speak about Putin’s long-range plan— his “playbook”—to destabilize, weaken and subdue the United States, preparing for the war that he believes is inevitable. She will also reveal how unprepared the U.S. lumbering bureaucracy is to defend America from Putin’s threat. About the speaker: Rebekah Koffler, the author of Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America, is a former intelligence officer who served as a Russian Doctrine & Strategy specialist in the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2008 until late 2016. She has delivered classified briefings to top U.S. military commanders, NATO ministers, the directors of the CIA and DIA, the White House National Security Council, and senior congressional staff. In her post-public service career, Rebekah is a writer, commentator, and national security consultant whose work has been published on the Fox News website, The Hill, the New York Post, the Daily Caller, and the Washington Times. She has appeared on Fox News, Newsmax, One America News, and the Sean Hannity nationally syndicated radio show. Purchase book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZZJ8HF4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1.
About the lecture: Syria has seen an internecine civil war for the last decade. It has involved 4 out of the 5 Permanent Security Council members on either side of the conflict making it international, throwing to the wind the cardinal principles of the UN Charter particularly, sovereignty, non-interference, and self-defense. It sets an extremely retrograde principle for the conduct of international relations. About the speaker: Ambassador Rajendra Abhyankar is Visiting Professor at the College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, Lafayette. From 2012 to 2019, he was Professor of Practice of Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University. Amb. Abhyankar was in the Indian Foreign Service from June 1968 and retired in August 2005. He was Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 2001 to 2004, retiring as Ambassador to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg. He has been Indian Ambassador to Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Consul General in San Francisco. From 2005 to 2009 he was Professor/ Director of Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi. He has written seven books on Indian diplomacy and related issues. His latest book is Syria, The Tragedy of a Pivotal State (Palgrave, 2020).
This event is sponsored by the Asia Initiative Lecture Series at The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: The problems arising from the presence of North Korean refugees in China warrant a human security approach, meriting protection from the UN and the international community. There are three scenarios dreaded by the refugees: first is being caught by North Korean border patrol while trying to escape; second is being subjected to human trafficking ring; and third is being repatriated after being caught by either the Chinese police or North Korea’s own secret police operating in China. Despite the 1995 agreement between the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and China, which provides the UNHCR unimpeded access to all refugees within China, the UNHCR has been passive in exerting its mandate to protect the North Korean refugees. One possible solution is the construction of a refugee camp in China or Mongolia. If China allowed for this, it would catapult itself as a genuine “soft power” deserving of the much-coveted G2 status. Otherwise, China’s leadership ambition, UNHCR’s reputation, and most importantly, human rights of the refugees will remain in jeopardy so long as the discriminatory sŏngbun system in North Korea continues. About the speaker: Ambassador Jung-Hoon Lee is Dean and Professor of International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University. He is formerly the ROK government’s Ambassador for Human Rights as well as its inaugural Ambassador-at-Large for North Korean Human Rights. On campus, he served as Dean of the Underwood International College and the Office of International Affairs. He has also served as Director of the Institute of Modern Korean Studies, the Yonsei Human Liberty Center, the Center for American Studies (IEWS), and the Center for European Studies (IEWS). His other academic affiliations include a visiting professorship at the Dept. of Politics, Faculty of Law, Keio University, and a senior fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Ambassador Lee has advised South Korea’s National Unification Advisory Council, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Council, and the National Assembly. In the case of the Ministry of Unification, he chaired the Advisory Committee for Humanitarian Affairs. His current domestic commitments include his role as Chairman of SaveNK, an NGO that helps the defector community, Senior Advisor to the Future Korea Weekly, a current affairs magazine, and Chairman of the Board of Tongwon Educational Foundation. Internationally, he is a Board Member of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) based in Washington, D.C., an International Patron of the Hong Kong Watch, a UK-based organization that promotes Hong Kong’s democracy, and an Advisory Council Member of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, also based in London. He received his BA from Tufts University, MALD from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College). In 2017, he published Tongbukah Kyŏkrang ui Hanbokp’anesŏ [In the Midst of a Northeast Asian Current]. His most recent journal contributions include “Déjà Vu in South Korea? Lessons from the 1992 Philippines Withdrawal” in The Washington Quarterly (2020), “The UN’s Human Security Challenge: The Plight of North Korean Refugees in China” in the Journal of International Politics (2020), and “North Korea’s Nuclear and Human Rights Conundrum: Implications for South Korea’s Unification Goal” in Pacific Focus (2020).
This lecture event is part of the 14th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference presented by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium Studies. About the lecture: On July 10, 1941, the Germans burned alive most of the Jewish population of Jedwabne in north-eastern Poland. Some of the local Christians assisted in the crime but the nature of their exact involvement and deeds remains obscure. In fact, recently declassified documents suggest it was more negligible than some scholars argued before. However, we shall not know the precise details of the crime and the exact perpetrators without an exhumation and further forensic study of the victims. Dr. Chodakiewicz will discuss new evidence and present a documentary collection he co-edited: over 2,000 pages of newly accessible evidence of the crime. About the speaker: Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz holds The Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at The Institute of World Politics and leads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, he also serves as a Professor of History and teaches courses on Geography and Strategy, Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Russian Politics and Foreign Policy, and Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States. He is the author of Intermarium: The Land Between the Black and Baltic Seas and numerous other books and articles. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and has previously taught at the University of Virginia and Loyola Marymount University.
This lecture event is part of the 14th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference presented by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium Studies. About the lecture: Dr. Radzilowski will discuss the Invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and the seemingly deliberate amnesia about the campaign that persisted for almost 80 years. He will examine Poland’s defensive strategy and its successes and failures and why historians have failed so often to understand the campaign’s importance. He will draw on recent scholarship on the topic as well as comparisons with another campaign that is similarly misremembered, the Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937. Lastly, Dr. Radzikowski will examine the role of Cold War politics and efforts of Western countries to save face after their inadequate response to the threats of totalitarianism in the 1930s and 1940s in shaping popular perceptions of these campaigns. About the speaker: Dr. John Radzilowski has taught history, art history, and geography at University of Alaska Southeast on the Ketchikan campus since 2007. Prior to moving to Alaska, he taught history courses at the University of St. Thomas, Hamline University, and Anoka-Ramsey College in Minnesota. Dr. Radzilowski also served as assistant project director at Center for Nations in Transition, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota where he helped design and administer USAID and State Department-sponsored training programs for business, economics, and political science faculty and NGO leaders in Ukraine and east central Europe. Dr. Radzilowski’s research and teaching interests are wide-ranging and diverse: immigration and ethnicity, military history, war and genocide, the impact of technology on the history and geography of the Great Plains and Midwest, local and regional studies, and the history of Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and central and eastern Europe.
This lecture event is part of the 14th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference presented by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium Studies. About the lecture: This lecture will focus on the forgotten human aspect of the 1940 Katyń massacre of Polish officers by the NKVD. Dr. Alexander Jabłoński will discuss the life of one Polish officer – Major Władysław Julian Siemek, a staff member of the highly regarded pre-war military institution, the Military Geographical Institute (Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny) in Warsaw, Poland. More than 30% of its staff perished during WWII, with the majority killed in Katyń forest. About the speaker: Alexander M. Jabłoński received his BSc & MS in civil engineering at the Technical University of Cracow, Poland (1970), MS in mechanics and materials engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago (1982) and PhD in structural dynamics at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada (1989). He has more than 50 years of experience in various fields of engineering, and reconnaissance projects, project management and strategy planning. He worked as an engineer in Poland, Finland, Norway, Germany, and in the USA. Since 1992, he has been working as Research Scientist, Research Engineer and Manager in Canadian Public Service. He was one of Managers of the Space Plan Task Force (SPTF) for the development of the Long-Term Space Plan III for Canada (1999-2009). Currently, he is working at the David Florida Laboratory, Canadian Space Agency in Ottawa. He is also an Adjunct Research Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Carleton University in Ottawa. He is Fellow of CASI, Associate Fellow of AIAA, Member of Aerospace Division of ASCE, and recipient of various engineering and scientific awards. Since his early life in Poland, he has studied the Polish and world history for decades. He writes historical essays and presentations, especially on the modern history of Poland including the World War II and the postwar era of the Soviet occupation. Currently he serves as President of the Oskar Halecki Institute in Canada and as a member of the Program Council of the newly established Institute of the Heritage of the National Thought in Warsaw, Poland.
This lecture event is part of the 14th Annual Kościuszko Chair Conference presented by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies and the Center for Intermarium Studies. About the lecture: Prof. Grzegorz Kucharczyk will summarize the analysis of communism provided by the Cardinal Wyszyński, Primate of Poland. Shortly before WWII, Rev. Stefan Wyszynski pointed to the destructive role played by Western intellectuals infatuated with communism, calling them “strange people.” In 1934, Stefan Wyszynski first drew attention to a new strategy of the international communist movement, which aimed its efforts at intelligentsia as a class very much prone to fall into this trap. More than thirty years later, in 1967, Cardinal Wyszyński warned against “a new type of communism reflected in the youth revolution.” As the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Wyszynski not only correctly analyzed communism but also knew what means were to be employed to achieve victory against this ungodly ideology. This victory was to be achieved over long distances, and therefore, strategic perspective was very much needed. In 1981, the Cardinal said, “When you go to war, and we are in a war, you have to use binoculars.” The latter, in the form of the Great Novena and the Millennial celebration of 1966, was efficiently used by the blessed Cardinal Wyszyński. About the speaker: Grzegorz Kucharczyk is a professor at the Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, at the Gorzow Academy of Jacob of Paradyz and in the Center for Totalitarian Studies at the Pilecki Institute. His main research fields include: history of Germany (particularly Prussia) in the 19th and the 20th century, history of anti-Catholicism, and the history of Polish political thought.
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