Program Description

How to Participate

1. Fill out the form to register to participate and receive your complimentary Great Decisions Briefing Book
2. You will receive a link to watch the program videos
3. Participate in the discussion!

Schedule 

All sessions will take place from 12 pm - 1 pm Phoenix, Arizona time, online via Zoom.

March 1, 2022 | Biden's Agenda

March 15, 2022 | QUAD Alliance

April 19, 2022 | Drug Policy in Latin America

May 17, 2022 | Industrial Policy

June 21, 2022 | Outer Space

September 20, 2022 | Myanmar and ASEAN

October 18, 2022 | Changing Demographics

November 15, 2022 | Climate Change

December 13, 2022 | Russia and the U.S.

Moderator

Charles Blum has spent a lifetime in international affairs. Before launching an independent consultancy in 1988, he served in the US State Department and the Executive Office of the President for 17 years. He has worked on commercial, investment and policy matters on six continents and participates in a broad range of discussions on foreign and domestic policy. A native of New York, he now resides in Sedona, AZ.

Lessons From The Edge

with Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

“'Lessons From the Edge' is a brilliant, engaging, and inspiring memoir from one of America’s wisest and most courageous diplomats—essential reading for current policymakers, aspiring public servants, and anyone who cares about America’s role in the world.” —Madeleine K. Albright

Please join the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations for a reception and dinner program featuring former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Amb. Marie Yovanovitch in conversation with PCFR member David A. Merkel on May 19th at the Paradise Valley Country Club. Amb. Yovanovitch will sign copies of her memoir, Lessons from the Edge, which is the Reading Group choice for May.

About the Book

An inspiring and urgent memoir by the ambassador who electrified the nation by speaking truth to power. By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts. She has reclaimed her own narrative, first with her lauded congressional testimony, and now with this memoir.

A child of parents who survived Soviet and Nazi terror, Yovanovitch’s life and work have taught her the preciousness of democracy as well as the dangers of corruption. Lessons from the Edge follows the arc of her career as she develops into the person we came to know during the impeachment proceedings.

Cost to attend includes bar and dinner. 

Copper: Arizona's Strategic Role in the Global Energy Transition

Copper has long been a source of growth and economic prosperity and, in Arizona, it has long been a source of community development and pride for the state. Dan P. Kravets, Vice President, Corporate Development & Exploration at Freeport-McMoRan Inc., and David W. Hahn, the Craig M. Berge Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona, will discuss copper’s critical role in the global energy transition. The discussion will focus on copper’s role in technology advancement, such as 5G, artificial intelligence applications, energy efficiency and global decarbonization initiatives.

Copper demand is growing at a time when the industry’s pipeline of new mine development is shrinking. In this context, the speakers will address security of supply and the importance of modern mining in accelerating the future, responsibly. Copper is integral to supporting safe, resilient infrastructure, products, and systems in the US and around the world. Copper continues to provide a bright future for our state and local communities, and it will be a critical component in advancing the global energy transition.

Drinks and appetizers will be provided. Your registration includes admission to multiple exhibits in the Phoenix Art Museum during the reception hour and following the program.

The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today with Hal Brands

“If you want to know how America can win today's rivalries with Russia and China, read this book about how it triumphed in another twilight struggle: the Cold War.”— Stephen J. Hadley, national security adviser to President George W. Bush

The United States is entering an era of great-power competition with China and Russia. Such global struggles happen in a geopolitical twilight, between the sunshine of peace and the darkness of war. In this innovative and illuminating book, Hal Brands, a leading historian and former Pentagon adviser, argues that America should look to the history of the Cold War for lessons in how to succeed in great-power rivalry today. Although the threat posed by authoritarian powers is growing, America’s muscle memory for dealing with dangerous foes has atrophied in the thirty years since the Cold War ended. In long-term competitions where the diplomatic jockeying is intense and the threat of violence is omnipresent, the United States will need all the historical insight it can get. Exploring how America won a previous twilight struggle is the starting point for determining how America can successfully prosecute another high-stakes rivalry today.

Registration

Complimentary Registration

Schedule

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

12 pm MST | 3 pm EDT

Venue

Zoom Meeting

The link for this webinar will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Speaker

Hal Brands

Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. He is the author or editor of several books, including American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump (2018), Making the Unipolar Moment: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War Order (2016), What Good is Grand Strategy? Power and Purpose in American Statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush (2014), Latin America’s Cold War (2010), From Berlin to Baghdad: America’s Search for Purpose in the Post-Cold War World (2008), The Power of the Past: History and Statecraft (co-edited with Jeremi Suri, 2015), and The Last Card: Inside George W. Bush’s Decision to Surge in Iraq (co-edited with Jeffrey Engel, Timothy Sayle, and William Inboden, 2019). His newest books are The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order, co-authored with Charles Edel, and COVID-19 and World Order, co-edited with Francis Gavin.

Hal served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Planning from 2015 to 2016. He has also served as lead writer for the Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States, and consulted with a range of government offices and agencies in the intelligence and national security communities.

Moderator

Jim Falk

Jim Falk retired in March 2021 as president of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth; he is now its president emeritus. He is a member of the board of Global Santa Fe where he chairs the program committee. Jim’s interest in travel and global affairs grew from his years spent in Tunisia where he attended a French lycée. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University and earned his MA in Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia with a focus on international law and Middle East politics. Jim co-hosts McCuistion, a public affairs program, on KERA-Dallas. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an advisory member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. He was appointed in 2012 Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of Morocco.

Book for Discussion

Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir

by Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch

Friday, May 27, 2022

7:30 - 9:00 am Arizona time

Venue

Online Zoom Meeting

About the Book

“'Lessons From the Edge' is a brilliant, engaging, and inspiring memoir from one of America’s wisest and most courageous diplomats—essential reading for current policymakers, aspiring public servants, and anyone who cares about America’s role in the world.” —Madeleine K. Albright

An inspiring and urgent memoir by the ambassador who electrified the nation by speaking truth to power. By the time she became US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch had seen her share of corruption, instability, and tragedy in developing countries. But it came as a shock when, in early 2019, she was recalled from her post after a smear campaign by President Trump’s personal attorney and his associates—men operating outside of normal governmental channels, and apparently motivated by personal gain. Her courageous participation in the subsequent impeachment inquiry earned Yovanovitch the nation’s respect, and her dignified response to the president’s attacks won our hearts. She has reclaimed her own narrative, first with her lauded congressional testimony, and now with this memoir.

A child of parents who survived Soviet and Nazi terror, Yovanovitch’s life and work have taught her the preciousness of democracy as well as the dangers of corruption. Lessons from the Edge follows the arc of her career as she develops into the person we came to know during the impeachment proceedings.

Save the Dates

View Upcoming Reading Group Meetings Here

The War No One is Talking About: Collective Failure, Collective Responsibility for the Suffering in Yemen

Featuring The Honorable Melissa Parke

A member of the former United Nation's Group of Eminent International and Regional Experts on Yemen, the Honorable Melissa Parke, former Minister for International Development and member of the federal parliament of Australia, will talk about the ongoing conflict in Yemen and the role of the international community in dealing with war crimes committed by all of the parties to the conflict, and the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

Registration

Complimentary Registration

RSVP HERE

Schedule

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

6 pm MST | 9 pm EDT | 9 am AWST (June 9)

Venue

Zoom Meeting

The link for this webinar will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Speaker

The Honorable Melissa Parke, 

Former Australian Minister for International Development & United Nations Yemen Expert

The Honorable Melissa Parke is a former Minister for International Development of Australia and a former federal member of parliament for Fremantle (2007 - 2016). Prior to entering the Australian parliament, Melissa served as an international lawyer with the United Nations in Kosovo, Gaza, New York, and Lebanon. Since retiring from parliament, Melissa has been an Ambassador for ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Melissa also served for four years (2017 - 2021) as a member of the United Nations' Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen for the U.N. Human Rights Council, investigating violations of international law committed by parties to the conflict in Yemen.

Book for Discussion

After the Fall:

Being American in the World We've Made

by Ben Rhodes

Friday, June 24, 2022

7:30 am - 9:00 am MST

10:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT

Venue

Online Zoom Meeting

About the Book

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Vital reading for Americans and people anywhere who seek to understand what is happening ‘after the fall’ of the global system created by the United States” (New York Journal of Books), from the former White House aide, close confidant to President Barack Obama, and author of 'The World as It Is'

At a time when democracy in the United States is endangered as never before, Ben Rhodes spent years traveling the world to understand why. He visited dozens of countries, meeting with politicians and activists confronting the same nationalism and authoritarianism that are tearing America apart. Along the way, he discusses the growing authoritarianism of Vladimir Putin, and his aggression towards Ukraine, with the foremost opposition leader in Russia, who was subsequently poisoned and imprisoned; he profiled Hong Kong protesters who saw their movement snuffed out by China under Xi Jinping; and America itself reached the precipice of losing democracy before giving itself a fragile second chance.

The characters and issues that Rhodes illuminates paint a picture that shows us where we are today—from Barack Obama to a rising generation of international leaders; from the authoritarian playbook endangering democracy to the flood of disinformation enabling authoritarianism. Ultimately, Rhodes writes personally and powerfully about finding hope in the belief that looking squarely at where America has gone wrong can make clear how essential it is to fight for what America is supposed to be, for our own country and the entire world.

Save the Dates

View Upcoming Reading Group Meetings Here

America's Great-Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition

Featuring Ali Wyne, Senior Analyst, Eurasia Group's Global Macro Practice

It has become axiomatic to contend that U.S. foreign policy must adapt to an era of renewed “great-power competition.” The United States went on a quarter-century strategic detour after the Cold War, the argument goes, basking in triumphalism and getting bogged down in the Middle East. Now China and Russia are increasingly challenging its influence and undercutting the order it has led since 1945. How should it respond to these two formidable authoritarian powers?

In this timely intervention, Ali Wyne offers the first detailed critique of great-power competition as a foreign policy framework, warning that it could render the United States defensive and reactive. He exhorts Washington to find a middle ground between complacence and consternation, selectively contesting Beijing and Moscow but not allowing their decisions to determine its own course. Analyzing a resurgent China, a disruptive Russia, and a deepening Sino-Russian entente, Wyne explains how the United States can seize the "great-power opportunity" at hand: to manage all three of those phenomena confidently while renewing itself at home and abroad.

Registration

Complimentary Registration

Schedule

September 13, 2022

12 pm MST | 3 pm EDT

Venue

Zoom Meeting

The link for this webinar will be included in your registration confirmation email.

Speaker

Ali Wyne

Senior Analyst

Eurasia Group's Global Macro Practice

Ali Wyne is a senior analyst with Eurasia Group's Global Macro practice, focusing on U.S.-China relations and great-power competition.

Ali served as a junior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 2008 to 2009, working for Minxin Pei and Michael Swaine, and as a research assistant at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs from 2009 to 2012, working for Graham Allison. In 2013 he served on a team that prepared Samantha Power for her confirmation hearing to be ambassador to the United Nations. From 2014 to 2015 he belonged to the RAND Corporation's adjunct staff, working with the late Richard Solomon on its "Strategic Rethink" series. He returned to RAND in 2017 and served as a policy analyst in its Defense and Political Sciences Department until 2020. He has also been a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute.

Ali graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with dual degrees in Management Science and Political Science (2008) and received his Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School (2017), where he was a course assistant to Joseph Nye. While at the Kennedy School he served on a Hillary for America working group on U.S. policy towards Asia.

Ali is a coauthor of Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and the World (2013) and the author of America's Great-Power Opportunity: Revitalizing U.S. Foreign Policy to Meet the Challenges of Strategic Competition (2022).

Ali is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a David Rockefeller fellow with the Trilateral Commission, and a security fellow with the Truman National Security Project. He also serves as a member of Foreign Policy for America's Board of Directors and as a member of the American Pakistan Foundation's Leadership Council.