Thursday, November 21th – The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) hosted a discussion on the impact and ramifications of the government transition in South Sudan and the future of U.S.-South Sudan relations. This discussion featured Susan Stigant from USIP and Joshua Meservey from The Heritage Foundation and […]
Monday, October 7th – With U.S.-Taliban peace talks stalled and the future course of the peace process unclear, Afghans will head to the polls on September 28 to elect a president. Ashraf Ghani has focused his peace strategy on winning a second term and then negotiating with the Taliban with a renewed democratic mandate. Opposition […]
Thursday, July 18th – United States Institute for Peace (USIP) and Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) hosted an off-the-record lunch briefing on the Hill to discuss the growing partnership between China and Russia and this coordination’s impacts on U.S. interests. Regional experts Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at […]
Thursday, July 11th – Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) hosted a lunch briefing on the Hill to discuss the efficacy of sanctions in light of North Korea’s illicit finance networks and economic integration with China, while outlining what opportunities remain for diplomatic engagement between Washington and Pyongyang. Richard Johnson, Senior Director for fuel cycle and […]
On November 30, Partnership for a Secure America and the United States Institute of Peace hosted an off-the-record briefing on Russia’s increasingly assertive foreign policy and the role of Congress in guiding future relations between the U.S. and Russia. Ambassador Bill Taylor, Executive Vice President at USIP, was joined by Dr. Michael Carpenter, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, to discuss the strategic implications of Russia’s foreign policy that includes the use of disinformation campaigns, hybrid warfare tactics in Ukraine and Georgia, and intervention in violent conflicts like Syria and Afghanistan. This discussion was moderated by Cory Welt, Analyst in European Affairs at the Congressional Research Service.
William B. Taylor is the executive vice president at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Earlier, he was the special coordinator for Middle East Transitions in the U.S. State Department. He oversaw assistance and support to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009.
He also served as the U.S. government’s representative to the Mideast Quartet, which facilitated the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. He served in Baghdad as the first director of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office from 2004 to 2005, and in Kabul as coordinator of international and U.S. assistance to Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003. Ambassador Taylor was also coordinator of U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He earlier served on the staff of Senator Bill Bradley.
He is a graduate of West Point and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and served as an infantry platoon leader and combat company commander in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Germany.
Dr. Michael Carpenter is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He is also senior director of the Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Carpenter is a former deputy assistant secretary of defense with responsibility for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia, the Balkans, and Conventional Arms Control. Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Carpenter served in the White House as a foreign policy adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and as director for Russia at the National Security Council. Previously, he was a career foreign service officer with the State Department, where he worked in a number of different positions, including deputy director of the Office of Russian Affairs, speechwriter to the undersecretary of political affairs, and adviser on the South Caucasus. Dr. Carpenter also served abroad in the US Embassies in Poland, Slovenia, and Barbados.
During his career at the State Department, Dr. Carpenter received four Superior Honor Awards and three Meritorious Honor Awards. He holds an MA and PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in international relations from Stanford University. Dr. Carpenter was a Fulbright scholar at the Polish Academy of Sciences and has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, MacArthur Foundation, and IREX Foundation for his academic research.
Cory Welt is Analyst in European Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service. He covers Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and the Caucasus. Previously, he was Associate Director and Research Professor of International Affairs at the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where he co-directed the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia) and taught courses on post-Soviet Eurasian politics and security (2010-2016). He also has been associate director of the Eurasian Strategy Project at Georgetown University and deputy director and fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Partnership for a Secure America is excited to announce a new partnership with the Embassy of Japan titled The Worldview Series: Japan. This is the third installment of PSA’s program, The Worldview Series. The Embassy of Japan and PSA have designed this unique educational program to improve congressional insight into Japan and better inform U.S. foreign policy decisions on Capitol Hill.
This series features off-the-record events with leading Japan experts from government, think tanks, business, and academic arenas and culminates in a delegation to Japan. Focusing on a holistic understanding of Japan’s economic, security, and domestic situation, this program aims to build a deeper understanding of the important decisions American policy-makers face regarding U.S.-Japan Relations.
The Embassy of Japan is an educational participant in the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act, authorized by the U.S. Department of State.
October 22nd – Joshua Walker and Mark Manyin discussed Japan’s governmental and domestic issues, including a history of the U.S.-Japan relationship, key inflection points in that relationship, and possibilities for working together in the future.
Featuring:
Joshua Walker – Non-Resident and Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund
Mark Manyin – Asia Specialist at Congressional Research Service
October 29 – Shihoko Goto discussed the foundation of Japan’s economy, the U.S.-Japan trade relationship, and the future of TPP and trade in the Asia-Pacific.
Featuring:
Shihoko Goto – Senior Northeast Asia Associate at the Wilson Center
November 14 – Dr. Sheila Smith discussed Japan’s security and U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. She also addressed regional security issues including the rise of China and relations with the Korean peninsula.
Featuring:
Dr. Sheila Smith – Senior Fellow for Japan Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
November 18-24 – The Worldview Series flew to Japan for a week-long delegation trip to gain an on-the-ground look at issues influencing U.S.-Japan relations. The delegation visited Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto and met with Japanese government and defense officials, U.S. military forces stationed in Japan, business representatives, and others.