The Institute of World Politics

This event is part of The Global Impact Discussion Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics.

About the lecture: How might the coronavirus pandemic influence U.S.-China relations? Some observers contend that it will accelerate the decoupling of the two countries’ economies; others, that it will compel them to restore a baseline of cooperation to address current and potential transnational threats; and yet others, that it will likely have a number of effects, not all of which will point in the same direction. And how might the pandemic affect global perceptions of each country’s ability to manage domestic crises and its willingness to provide global public goods? Some observers contend that China has “won” on those counts, at least relative to the United States; others, that it has “lost”; and yet others, that it is too early to render such judgments.

About the speaker: Mr. Ali Wyne is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute. He 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 is currently writing a book on great-power competition.

About the lecture: The presentation will explore the history of baseball diplomacy between the United States and Cuba, specifically focusing on the Trump administration’s nullification of the 2018 Major League Baseball-Cuban Baseball Federation player agreement.

About the speaker: Nathaniel Bader is an IWP student pursuing a master’s degree in Statecraft and National Security Affairs with a concentration in Public Diplomacy and Strategic Influence. Nathaniel graduated summa cum laude from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, with degrees in history and nonprofit administration. While at Dakota Wesleyan, Nathaniel was named the Senator George McGovern Scholar, served as parliamentarian for the Student Senate, led the McGovern Engagement Group for Political Activism, and spent time in Uganda working on long-term economic development projects in two rural villages. Nathaniel has interned with Court Appointed Special Advocates and the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Nathaniel currently works at the American Political Science Association. Nathaniel grew up in South Dakota, and, in his free time, he enjoys watching sports, traveling, playing bar trivia, and watching science fiction films.

About the lecture: The Intermarium's Nationalisms: Old and New discusses historic nationalism, which was predicated on civic and local identity, and non-historic nationalisms, which stressed their ethnic and folk character. The former concerned mostly the legacy of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; the latter reflected newly emergent nations, including the Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians.

About the speaker: Dr. Chodakiewicz currently serves as a Professor of History at The Institute of World Politics, where he holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. He also leads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, Dr. Chodakiewicz teaches courses on Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Geography and Strategy, Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States, and Russian Politics and Foreign Policy.

He was formerly an assistant professor of history of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at University of Virginia. He also served as a visiting professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

About the lecture: This is Dr. Chodakiewicz's first lecture in his series on the First World War and its Aftermath in the Intermarium, the lands between the Baltic and Black Seas, 1914-1921.

About the speaker: Dr. Chodakiewicz currently serves as a Professor of History at The Institute of World Politics, where he holds the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies. He also leads IWP’s Center for Intermarium Studies. At IWP, Dr. Chodakiewicz teaches courses on Contemporary Politics and Diplomacy, Geography and Strategy, Mass Murder Prevention in Failed and Failing States, and Russian Politics and Foreign Policy.

He was formerly an assistant professor of history of the Kosciuszko Chair in Polish Studies at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at University of Virginia. He also served as a visiting professor of history at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

About the book review: Dr. Christopher C. Harmon, the Bren Chair of Great Power Competition at Marine Corps University and IWP professor, reviewed Erik Larson's new book The Splendid and the Vile, which accounts the leadership of Winston Churchill during his first days as prime minister.

Dr. Christopher Harmon gives an in-depth review of the book. He discusses its strengths and weaknesses, his own IWP course (IWP 628), which examines military strategy, and the best reasons to continue to study Winston Churchill, half a century after his death.

About the speaker: Dr. Christopher C. Harmon wrote his political science dissertation on terrorism in the early 1980s and continued that work as Legislative Aide for Foreign Policy to a member of Congress and, much later, director of counterterrorism studies programs in Asia and Europe for the U.S. government.

A professor at civilian and military graduate schools including the Naval War College, Dr. Harmon began teaching courses at The Institute of World Politics after 9/11 — on terrorism, and later on counterterrorism.

Lead author or editor of six books, he holds the Bren Chair of Great Power Competition at Marine Corps University, Quantico VA.

About the interview: Dr. Joshua Muravchik, Distinguished Fellow at the World Affairs Institute, spoke with IWP about the rise of socialism in American politics. He discussed the history of the socialist movement in America, what the term "democratic socialism" really means, why socialism is popular with millennials, and what we can do to fight the rise of socialism in America.

About the speaker: Dr. Joshua Muravchik is a distinguished fellow at the World Affairs Institute. He is a former resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute and a former fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute. Additionally, he is a professor at IWP where he teaches a course on Ideas and Values in American Politics.

Dr. Muravchik is the author of eleven books, including Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism, The Imperative of American Leadership, and Exporting Democracy: Fulfilling America’s Destiny; and also more than 400 articles in newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals.

About the discussion: Dr. John Lenczowski will discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has raised America’s consciousness of the reality of communist rule in China and its implications for the security and prosperity of our country.

“For years, our leaders have hoped and dreamed of a benevolent, democratic China. We gave away the store on this fantasy, and now we are paying the price. Ironically, this plague is a wake-up call to the gravity of the threat from communist China.”

This event will be moderated by IWP Chairman John Lovewell.

About the speaker: Dr. John Lenczowski served in the State Department in the Bureau of European Affairs and as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lawrence Eagleburger from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1987, he was Director of European and Soviet Affairs at the National Security Council. In that capacity, he was principal Soviet affairs adviser to President Reagan and one of the architects of the national strategy to bring down the Soviet empire. After teaching at Georgetown University, Dr. Lenczowski founded The Institute of World Politics, a non-profit graduate school of national security, intelligence, and international affairs in 1990 and currently serves as its President. He is the author of Full Spectrum Diplomacy and Grand Strategy. He has been consulting with the National Security Council, the State Department and the Defense Department on the China threat, U.S. strategy towards China, human rights, public diplomacy, and a general national security strategy of “winning without war.”

About the interview: Dr. Anne Bradley, Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics and IWP professor, spoke with IWP about the economic impact of the coronavirus. She discussed the future of the economy, the stock market, the new stimulus package, the long term effects of coronavirus, and the role of government in protecting the U.S. economy.

About the speaker: Dr. Anne Bradley is the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the Academic Director at the Fund for American Studies. She served as the Vice President of Economic Initiatives at The Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, where she developed and commissioned research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University and has previously taught at George Mason University and at Charles University, Prague. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. She served as the Associate Director for the Program in Economics, Politics, and the Law at the James M. Buchanan Center at George Mason University. She worked as an Economic Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. She is also a professor at IWP, where she teaches a course entitled Economics for Foreign Policy Makers

About the Interview: Dr. Sara Vakhshouri, Professor of Energy Security at IWP and President of SVB Energy International, spoke with members of the IWP events staff about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the energy market. She discussed energy supply and demand, the Russia-Saudi oil war, U.S. shale production, and what the future holds in regard to market stabilization.

About the Speaker: Dr. Sara Vakhshouri is founder and president of SVB Energy International, a strategic energy consulting firm with offices in Washington DC and Dubai. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Energy Security at The Institute of World Politics. Dr. Vakhshouri has about two decades of experience of working in the energy industry with extensive experience in global energy market studies, energy security, and geopolitical risk, and she has consulted numerous public and private sector energy and policy leaders.

Dr. Vakhshouri has been based in Washington, D.C. since 2009, where she has advised U.S. and European governments, investment banks, financial institutions, law firms, and international corporations on energy markets, trading and pricing, the geopolitics of energy, and investment patterns. She has published articles in numerous journals, including The Economist, Middle East Economic Survey, and Oil and Gas Journal. Dr. Vakhshouri has been the keynote speaker at many energy conferences, including Chatham House, Platts Oil and Middle East conferences, LNG Global Congress, and other international oil, gas, and energy conferences.

Dr. Vakhshouri has a Ph.D. in energy security and Middle Eastern studies. She has an M.A. in business management (international marketing) and another M.A. in international relations. Dr. Vakhshouri was also senior energy fellow at the Atlantic Council, and at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Dr. Vakhshouri also has the experience of working in both public and private sectors of the Iranian energy industry.

This event was co-sponsored by the Marine Corps University Foundation and the Krulak Center at Marine Corps University.

About the lecture: The initial effects of the internet and social media seemed happy, but the second and third order effects — disinformation, lies, propaganda, deep fakes, troll swarms, personal attacks, and conspiracy theories among them — now present threats to privacy, national security, and democratic governance. They are a factor in America’s political polarization. The malign effects are outrunning the capacity of public affairs, public diplomacy, and USG international broadcasting to respond. What can be the pathways ahead?

About the speaker: Donald M. Bishop joined Marine Corps University as the Bren Chair of Strategic Communications in 2016. The Chair is sponsored by the Marine Corps University Foundation. Mr. Bishop was a Foreign Service Officer – first in the U.S. Information Agency and then in the Department of State – for 31 years. Specializing in Public Diplomacy, political-military affairs, and East Asia, he attained the rank of Minister-Counselor in the career service.

His first round of Foreign Service assignments were to Hong Kong; Taegu and Seoul, Korea; and Taipei, Taiwan. In Washington, he was a Congressional Fellow, and he directed the training of the Foreign Service’s incoming Public Diplomacy officers. Returning overseas, he directed U.S. Public Diplomacy programs in Bangladesh, Nigeria, and twice in China.

In 2006, Mr. Bishop was detailed to the Pentagon as the Foreign Policy Advisor (POLAD) to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T. Conway, and then to the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, General Norton Schwartz. Traveling with these two members of the JCS, he visited five continents and joined service planning to develop strong relationships with the armed forces of other nations.

At the request of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Mr. Bishop led communication and Public Diplomacy at the American Embassy in Afghanistan as the “civilian surge” began. In Kabul he helped develop the Afghan government’s relations with the media, and to cooperate with the U.S. and NATO commands. Other portfolios included media relations, education and exchanges, English teaching, the preservation of cultural heritage sites, and the network of Lincoln Learning Centers throughout Afghanistan.

Before joining the MCU faculty, he was director of communications at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China; served a term as President of the Public Diplomacy Council; and participated in four U.S. Army brigade exercises at Fort Polk, Louisiana, as a role player.

Before entering the Foreign Service, Mr. Bishop was an Air Force officer. He served in Vietnam and Korea. From 1975 to 1979, he taught history on the faculty of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was a member of the summer training cadre for the first Academy class that included women.