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About the Lecture: “Our democracy is getting self-destroyed, for it abused the rights of freedom and of equality; for it taught the citizens to regard insolence as a right, illegality as freedom, impertinence as equality, and anarchy as happiness.” (Isocrates, 436-338 BC). Democracy first emerged in ancient Athens in 507 BC following a long turbulent period of aristocracy and tyranny, when a nexus of intertwined geopolitical, sociopolitical, economic, and cultural developments led to the morphogenesis of this new political constitution. Athenian Democracy formulated the political ideology and fundamental principles that were later canonized by modern democracies, formalized defensive mechanisms against undue concentration of power and employed innovative integrative mechanisms to propagate its ideology and educate the citizens. Pathogenic traits-catalysts, however, such as the extreme polarization between mass and elite, demagogy, populism, failure of justice, apathy, and poor education caused extensive political ankylosis. Internal corrosion and changing historical conditions caused the decline and fall of Democracy three centuries later. Isocrates’ aphorism, therefore, rings alarmingly all too pragmatic and relevant today, 250 years since the resurgence of Democracy in the modern world (USA, France, Greece). Are we running a similar cycle, repeating old mistakes, standing at the same juncture, heading towards the same dead end? To navigate forward, find solutions, and shape our future, we need first to study our past. About the Speaker: Born in Greece, Christofilis Maggidis received a thorough education in the Classical Lyceum at the Anavryta Model School and went on to receive a B.A. in History and Archaeology (1988) from the University of Athens, where he was awarded several honorary distinctions and scholarships for excellence. He further pursued his graduate studies while on prestigious fellowships (Fulbright, William Penn, and Charles Williams Fellowships) and received his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology (1994) from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed postdoctoral studies as a Fellow at Brown University (1997-1999) and a White-Levy Research Fellow at Harvard University (1999-2001). Christofilis has taught archaeology, ancient history, classics, and philosophy at Campus College and the University of Indianapolis, Athens. In 2001, Christofilis joined Dickinson College as the Christopher Roberts Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology, where he has been teaching courses in the art, architecture, and archaeology of the prehistoric Aegean, classical Greece, republican/imperial Rome, Egypt, the Near East (Mesopotamia and Anatolia), in ancient Greek religion and athletics, Athenian democracy, ancient burial customs, and ancient technology. Christofilis Maggidis is an active field archaeologist with long field experience since 1985 as a trench master and sector supervisor at major archaeological; he has served as Field Director of the Lower Town Excavation at Mycenae, Co-Director of the Mycenaean Spercheios-valley Archaeological Project, and Director of the Archaeogeophysical Survey of the Citadel of Glas. He was elected member of the Athens Archaeological Society in 1999 and President of the Mycenaean Foundation in 2013. His main research interests focus on Aegean Prehistory, but also include Classical Sculpture and Architecture, Archaeological Methodology and Interpretation. Christofilis has given 38 invited lectures and presented another 40 international conference papers worldwide. His publications comprise 23 articles, numerous excavation reports, and four forthcoming books: The Lower Town of Mycenae I: Archaeogeophysical Survey 2003-2013; The Lower Town of Mycenae II: Archaeological Excavations 2007-2013; The Palatial Workshops of Mycenae: The Artisans’ Workshops and the House of; Mycenae Excavations: Building K.
About the Lecture: The aim of this lecture is to discuss present and future of Angolan political process and how corruption is undermining the new democratic process in this country. About the Panelists: Florindo Chivucute is the founder and Executive Director of Friends of Angola (FoA), and Radio Angola (an online radio station), activist, blogger and digital media specialist. Florindo earned his Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and has over 5 years of experience working in non-profit organizations, international development, international relations, peace building, and education while being active in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in the United States. Hashem Mekki, MA, has taught Arabic Language, Culture & Middle East Media at IWP since 2012. He is the owner of Bridge Language Solutions, providing an array of language translation, interpretation and teaching services to the Washington DC metropolitan area, and the founder of Kele Global, a nonprofit organization that promotes education, health, and economic empowerment in the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. He also teaches Arabic language to federal employees & professionals at the National Nuclear Security Administration at the Department of Energy. Mr. Mekki volunteers with the IWP Center for Human Rights and International Affairs by providing Arabic translations & strategic cultural perspectives on North Africa and Middle East. Mr. Mekki previously worked with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and served on the board of Voices of Sudan, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. He holds Bachelors degrees in both Political Science and International Studies from the City College of New York, and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies and International Politics from IWP. Malik M. Chaka is a retired U.S. Government official who served as Director, Threshold Programs, for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and as a Professional Staff Member with House Africa Subcommittee. He first visited the Angola marquis as a journalist in 1973 prior to independence on November 11, 1975 and travelled widely in the country over a four decade period. Mr. Chaka has written on Angola topics for the Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, and London-based Africa Analysis. He testified before Congress on the Angolan Government of National Unity. Mr. Chaka served as the Director of Communications for the Free Angolan Information Service for seven years, and produced and edited Angola Update and Angola Economic Notes, two internationally distributed newsletters. He was a member of a Council on Foreign Relations independent commission that issued Toward An Angola Strategy: Prioritizing U.S.-Angola Relations in 2007. Kyra Gurney is a reporter for ICIJ. She previously worked at the Miami Herald and at InSight Crime, a nonprofit journalism organization based in Colombia that covers organized crime in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the Miami Herald, Kyra was part of a team investigating the illegal gold trade for a series called “Dirty Gold Clean Cash,” which was a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. She also covered education and local government. Kyra has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from Colorado College. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
About the Event: On November 15, 2019, the Institute of World Politics hosted a special day-long debate event examining the past, present, and future of Socialism/Communism. Sponsored by the Claremont Institute together with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and produced by the Imprimatur Group to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the program featured a morning debate on the economic viability of a socialist or communist system while the afternoon session explored the nature of cultural Marxism, which has been argued to have supplanted the tenets and goals of economic Marxism with a new emphasis on “social justice.” Our participants include Michael Anton, former member of the National Security Council, Marek Chodakiewiz, Professor of History at the Institute of World Politics, historian Ronald Radosh, a former Marxist and author of The Rosenberg File, and Michael Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. On the left, the debaters are Bhaskar Sunkara, the founding editor and publisher of Jacobin Magazine, author and managing editor of Jacobin Micah Uetricht, Eric Blanc, an author and contributor to Jacobin and The Nation, and sociologist Nicole Aschoff, author of The New Prophets of Capital. The debate will be moderated by cultural historian Michael Walsh, author of The Devil’s Pleasure Palace and The Fiery Angel, who will discuss his personal experiences in Berlin when the Wall fell during a special lunchtime presentation.
About the Event: On November 15, 2019, the Institute of World Politics hosted a special day-long debate event examining the past, present, and future of Socialism/Communism. Sponsored by the Claremont Institute together with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and produced by the Imprimatur Group to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the program featured a morning debate on the economic viability of a socialist or communist system while the afternoon session explored the nature of cultural Marxism, which has been argued to have supplanted the tenets and goals of economic Marxism with a new emphasis on “social justice.” Our participants include Michael Anton, former member of the National Security Council, Marek Chodakiewiz, Professor of History at the Institute of World Politics, historian Ronald Radosh, a former Marxist and author of The Rosenberg File, and Michael Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. On the left, the debaters are Bhaskar Sunkara, the founding editor and publisher of Jacobin Magazine, author and managing editor of Jacobin Micah Uetricht, Eric Blanc, an author and contributor to Jacobin and The Nation, and sociologist Nicole Aschoff, author of The New Prophets of Capital. The debate will be moderated by cultural historian Michael Walsh, author of The Devil’s Pleasure Palace and The Fiery Angel, who will discuss his personal experiences in Berlin when the Wall fell during a special lunchtime presentation.
About the Event: On November 15, 2019, the Institute of World Politics hosted a special day-long debate event examining the past, present, and future of Socialism/Communism. Sponsored by the Claremont Institute together with the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and produced by the Imprimatur Group to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the program featured a morning debate on the economic viability of a socialist or communist system while the afternoon session explored the nature of cultural Marxism, which has been argued to have supplanted the tenets and goals of economic Marxism with a new emphasis on “social justice.” Our participants include Michael Anton, former member of the National Security Council, Marek Chodakiewiz, Professor of History at the Institute of World Politics, historian Ronald Radosh, a former Marxist and author of The Rosenberg File, and Michael Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. On the left, the debaters are Bhaskar Sunkara, the founding editor and publisher of Jacobin Magazine, author and managing editor of Jacobin Micah Uetricht, Eric Blanc, an author and contributor to Jacobin and The Nation, and sociologist Nicole Aschoff, author of The New Prophets of Capital. The debate will be moderated by cultural historian Michael Walsh, author of The Devil’s Pleasure Palace and The Fiery Angel, who will discuss his personal experiences in Berlin when the Wall fell during a special lunchtime presentation. This debate argues whether or not socialism and communism remains a viable economic, social and political system, but it possibly just has not been implemented correctly yet.
About the lecture: What is the origin of Russian behavior in international politics? What is their worldview and grand strategy? How do they apply it in Cyberspace and what are the implications for the US and the West? This presentation will delve into how Russian strategic thinking originated in the Soviet era and how it transitioned to contemporary Russia, and how they have a unique competitive advantage in Cyber Space. This presentation will also address the principles and theories of Hybrid Warfare from the Russian perspective and contrast it with Western thinking, which has broad security implications. About the speaker: Mr. Peter Debbins has 20 years of experience and knowledge in intelligence, national security, strategic planning, CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, enhanced Explosives), cyber and cyber space, hybrid warfare, business, economics, finance, world geopolitical environment, and science and technology (S&T). He possesses native fluency in Russian. Mr. Debbins served as an officer in the US Army and has also worked in commercial businesses in Ukraine and Russia. He was a Russian Cyber Analyst for the US Government, and later a Cyber Operations instructor. Currently he works as an Area Studies and Hybrid Warfare instructor for the US European Command (EUCOM) and NATO.
About the Book: A path-breaking work on Chinese global strategy, China’s Vision of Victory brings the reader to a new understanding of China’s grand-scale planning and ambitions. From seabed to space, from Africa to the Antarctic, from subsurface warfare to the rise of China’s global corporations, this book illuminates the greatest challenge of our lifetimes – the Chinese Communist Party’s ambition to end the American-led world and to bring about a century defined by Chinese power. China’s Vision of Victory a is landmark book on Chinese global strategy. It brings together numerous primary sources, both contemporary and historical, unveiling the grand strategic vision of China’s leaders, laying out the ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party and their project for the creation of a new world order, built on the ‘resurrection’ of China’s supremacy among nations. China’s leaders envision a turning point in history, the breaking up of the American-led global order, and the vanquishing of American power in the Pacific and beyond. Only when China has returned to its seat at the head of all nations, both in Asia and around the world, as the supreme power of the 21st Century, can the ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ as China’s leaders call it, then be complete. About the Speaker: Dr. Jonathan D. T. Ward is the Founder of Atlas Organization, a consultancy focused on the rise of China and India, the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, and US-China global competition. He completed his D.Phil. at Oxford in China-India relations and has traveled widely throughout China, India, and the Indo-Pacific Region. Dr. Ward has consulted for the Pentagon on Chinese long-term strategy and began studying Chinese global strategy, the Indian Ocean Region, and Maritime Asia for Oxford Analytica, the UK’s leading political risk consultancy. Dr. Ward’s travels in the Indo-Pacific include traversing the South China Sea on an Indonesian cargo ship, hitch-hiking with truck drivers in the China-India Himalayan border regions, and getting stuck on a mountaintop in the Strait of Hormuz during travels with Omani fishermen in the Persian Gulf. As an undergraduate, Jonathan studied Philosophy, Russian, and Chinese language at Columbia University. He speaks Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic and has lived in Russia, China, India, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. Dr. Ward is a member of the 2018 Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellowship program at the Center for a New American Security. He is a frequently invited speaker for public and private audiences in the United States, Europe, and Asia, on China, India, and the Indo-Pacific. He is also a Research Associate at the University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Programme.
About the Lecture: Ambassador Romualdez will speak on Philippines-US relations in the context of a quickly changing Indo-Pacific, including the emerging economic, political, and strategic realities of the region. He will also touch on the strong history of Philippine-US ties that include not only the trade and security relationship but perhaps most importantly the people to people ties that undergird the relationship. About the Speaker: Jose Manuel “Babe” del Gallego Romualdez was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United States of America in July 2017 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. On 29 November 2017, he presented his credentials to US President Donald J. Trump and formally assumed office as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Additionally, as the head of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., Ambassador Romualdez is concurrently the Philippines’ emissary to the Commonwealth of Jamaica, Republic of Haiti; Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Dominica; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Saint Lucia. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Romualdez was designated as a special envoy of the Philippine President to the United States. He also served as a member of several Philippine business delegations visiting the United States, China, Japan and New Zealand from 1989 to 2012. Ambassador Romualdez has extensive experience as a media practitioner and business executive. He used to be the Chief Executive Officer of Stargate Media Corporation and Publisher of People Asia Magazine (The Philippine Star affiliate). He was president of the Manila Overseas Press Club and vice-president of Rotary Club of Manila. Ambassador Romualdez writes columns for The Philippine Star. All his columns have a wide following of readers both in the Philippines and abroad. Born and raised in Manila, Ambassador Romualdez received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from De La Salle College in 1970.
About the book: Pulitzer Prize Finalist in History and Winner of the Journal of the American Revolution 2016 Book of the Year Award The remarkable untold story of how the American Revolution’s success depended on substantial military assistance provided by France and Spain and places the Revolution in the context of the global strategic interests of those nations in their fight against England. In this groundbreaking, revisionist history, Larrie Ferreiro shows that at the time the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord the colonists had little chance, if any, of militarily defeating the British. The nascent American nation had no navy, little in the way of artillery, and a militia bereft even of gunpowder. In his detailed accounts Ferreiro shows that without the extensive military and financial support of the French and Spanish, the American cause would never have succeeded. France and Spain provided close to the equivalent of $30 billion and 90 percent of all guns used by the Americans, and they sent soldiers and sailors by the thousands to fight and die alongside the Americans, as well as around the world. Ferreiro adds to the historical records the names of French and Spanish diplomats, merchants, soldiers, and sailors whose contribution is at last given recognition. Instead of viewing the American Revolution in isolation, Brothers at Arms reveals the birth of the American nation as the centerpiece of an international coalition fighting against a common enemy. About the author: Dr. Larrie D. Ferreiro is the 2017 Pulitzer finalist for History, for his book “Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It”. He received his PhD in the History of Science and Technology from Imperial College London. He teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. He has served for over thirty-five years in the US Navy, US Coast Guard and Department of Defense, and was an exchange engineer in the French Navy. He lives with his wife and their sons in Virginia.
About the Lecture: The Trump administration quietly undertook a range of counterterrorism efforts during its first year, allowing President Trump to rightfully claim at the State of the Union address in January 2018 that, under his administration, ISIS suffered substantial territorial loss to its physical caliphate. But, that alone is not enough. This presentation aims to update the terrorism challenge going forward in light of policy choices, a new National Counterterrorism Strategy, and international pressure on terrorist actors. Going forward, the United States must also consider adapting its approach to counter a broader (and sometimes underground) jihadist movement by working with the right foreign partners to institutionalize better governance and support stabilization efforts. Failure to do so will risk yet another jihadist terrorist group rising to threaten the United States and its broader interests. In addition, senior leaders and policymakers must attain a better understanding of the complex “Grey Zone” dynamics ongoing in the Middle East, where the United States and its partners must be willing to invest in a long-term counter-strategy to contest the competing forces — both state and non-state in that vacuous space. This dynamic is now complicated by United States military forces essentially pulling out of Syria, as well as the continuance of a strained relationship with Iran. Lastly, we can’t ignore domestic terrorism or homegrown violent extremism (HVE) – those would-be terrorists that are at risk of radicalizing and mobilizing for violence. Effective measures to counter these threats require a range of capabilities — not solely those related to law enforcement, but also with the capabilities of the private sector and civil society. About the Speaker: Mr. Costa served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council (NSC). At the NSC, he was responsible for coordinating counterterrorism policy and strategy as well as U.S. hostage recovery activities. Mr. Costa had 34 years of progressive national security experience and well‐documented success in strategy, policy, special operations, counterintelligence, and human intelligence, deploying on multiple contingencies and to combat operations in the Republic of Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Mr. Costa’s last assignment with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was as Program Director in the Operations Directorate. Preceding USSOCOM, Mr. Costa served as a Department of the Navy civilian at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group – with US Navy SEALs, and as a Senior Adjunct Instructor with Norwich University’s Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis Program; with Norwich University, he taught on topics related to national security, strategy, and counterterrorism. He holds an M.A. in Strategic Intelligence from American Military University; an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College; and a B.A. from Norwich University. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and two Bronze Stars. In May 2013, Mr. Costa was inducted into USSOCOM’s Commando Hall of Honor for extraordinary and enduring service to Special Operations Forces. Most recently, Mr. Costa joined the International Spy Museum as the Executive Director where he will play a leading role in building on its extraordinary success as a Washington attraction and speaking responsibly on current counterterrorism and intelligence issues.
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