Panel discussion with Brian Finlay (Stimson), David Firestein (Bush-China Foundation), Bruce McConnell (Stimson) & Anneleen Roggeman (ORF America)
The Mroz Institute World Affairs Colloquium brings to the campus and community speakers with prominent international experience to address topics of world interest. In this series the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs’ (LCWA) faculty and advisory board, as well as alumni of the EastWest Institute, invite prominent global citizens to present their life and work.
The World Affairs Colloquium stimulates discussions with students, faculty and the community as a part of LCWA’s mission to be the College’s place where disciplines merge, the realities of the world are confronted and where knowledgeable, engaged citizens of that world come of age.
The World Affairs Colloquium is connected thematically to LCWA’s World Affairs Signature Series, a coordinated year-long series of courses, events and community outreach organized around a specified theme.
Spring 2023
The main theme of the Mroz Global Leadership Institute for Spring 2023 is food, water, and energy security.
“Securitizing Everyday Life in Ukraine: the 3-day War Revisited” with Dr. Max Kovalov
January 24, 2023, 6pm
Max Kovalov will give an update about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Max Kovalov, Ph.D., is instructor of International Studies and Bennett Director of the Mroz Global Leadership Institute at the College of Charleston. His research focuses on democratization, politics of memory, populism, and political institutions in post-Communist states.
“International Anti-Corruption Court and Global Governance” Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Dr. Jonathan Fanton
January 30, 2023, 6pm
Jonathan Fanton will discuss the initiatives to create the International Anti-Corruption Court, its mandate and goals, and challenges related to the Court’s functioning.
Grand corruption does not endure due to a lack of laws. Each of the 189 signatories of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) has laws criminalizing major forms of corrupt conduct. Yet kleptocrats enjoy impunity because they control the administration of justice in their countries. An International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC) would fill the crucial enforcement gap in the international framework for combatting grand corruption.
Jonathan Fanton, Ph.D., served as president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences from 2014 to 2019 and has been a special adviser to the World Refugee & Migration Council since its launch in 2017. As president of the American Academy, Fanton directed one of the nation’s oldest honorary societies and independent policy research centers.
His previous experience includes serving as interim director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College from 2009 to 2014. From 1999 to 2009, Fanton was president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and for 17 years was president of the New School for Social Research. Earlier, he was vice president of planning at the University of Chicago.
“Global Water Stress: An Intensifying Crisis that Demands Urgent Attention.” Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Farwa Aamer
February 6, 2023, 6pm
Farwa Aamer will discuss the way water crisis is shaping up around the globe and will focus on the consequences of this crisis. She will draw attention to the social, economic, and political aspects of water and climate change and the role played by women and women groups in ramping up action. She will also give an overview of the work and projects on water security done by the Stimson Center.
Farwa Aamer is a Research Analyst with the Stimson Center’s Energy, Water, & Sustainability program. Her research focuses primarily on the security and political dimensions of transboundary river water governance in the Himalayan region. Farwa periodically organizes and convenes several Track II dialogues and discussions designed to facilitate greater inter-and intra-regional cooperation on issues around water security and hydrodiplomacy in South Asia, Central Asia and the Euphrates-Tigris river basin. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Farwa served as the Director of South Asia program at the EastWest Institute.
Ambassador of Switzerland to the US Jacques Pitteloud’s guest talk on transatlantic relationships
February 16, 2023, 5pm
Jacques Pitteloud has served as Ambassador of Switzerland to the US of America since 2019. He has been serving in Swiss Foreign Service since 1987 as a Swiss Strategic Intelligence Officer, a personal advisor to two successive Defense Ministers, and Swiss Ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and the Seychelles. After having been a witness of the Rwanda Genocide in 1994, Dr Pitteloud created an organization dedicated to the task of hunting down and bringing to justice the perpetrators and he managed to have several of them prosecuted both by the international as well as domestic courts. Ambassador Pitteloud headed the Swiss Delegation to the Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
“Food Security Summit” co-hosted by the Mroz Institute
March 24, 2023, times TBD
The Food Security Summit, organized by the Provost Office, co-hosted by Mroz Institute, will focus on food security as an element of national security, global hunger issues, and domestic hunger challenges. The Summit will feature guests from the World Food Program, US Department of Agriculture, Lowcountry Food Bank, Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. More details about the speakers and events are coming soon.
Fall 2022
The main theme of the Mroz Global Leadership Institute for the 2022-23 academic year is post-crisis reconstruction, development, and diplomacy. Post-crisis reconstruction is a multidimensional process which focuses on security and peacebuilding, the return to political stability, and economic and social development.
Armed conflicts, public health emergencies, natural disasters, and other crises have been a recurring feature of human history. Since WWII, military conflicts among states have been rare but instrastate and civil wars have been more frequent. Since 2012, the number of instrastate conflicts around the world almost doubled. Similarly, the number of natural disasters in past forty decades quadrupled. These crises have led to losses of life and wealth, human displacement, and political instability.
What happens after crises are over? How do countries deal with post-crisis reconstruction? What are the challenges of physical and social rebuilding efforts faced by countries? What are the priorities of reconstruction? What is the role of diplomacy and international assistance in post-crisis reconstruction? These are the key questions addressed by the Mroz Global Leadership Institute in the 2022-23 academic year.
“Deep Divisions and Democratic Innovation: Evidence from Northern Ireland.” Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Dr. Jamie Pow
September 8, 2022, 5pm
Dr. Jamie Pow is a lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast. His research focuses on the way citizens interact with democratic decision-making, including through elections, mini-publics and referendums. This talk is co-hosted by Center for International Education and Mroz Global Leadership Institute.
“Tensions, challenges, and diplomacy in the Middle East”
Fireside chat with Ambassador Dennis Ross
October 12, 2022, 5pm
Robert Scott Small (RSS) 235
Ambassador Dennis Ross is counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Prior to returning to the Institute in 2011, he served two years as special assistant to President Obama and National Security Council senior director for the Central Region, and a year as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. This talk is co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Charleston (WACC) and Mroz Global Leadership Institute.
“Leadership in a Crisis Filled World”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Dr. John Izzo
October 24, 2022, 6pm
Wells Fargo Auditorium, Beatty 115
The last three years have shaken the seeming stability of the post-Cold War and post-financial crisis period. The pandemic, war in Europe, tensions in Taiwan, accelerating climate change, food crisis, runaway inflation, and increasingly threatened democracies all suggest that we have entered a new crisis filled period. These crises are interacting to create both immense threats and an opportunity to re-think how we lead. In this talk, Dr. Izzo will explore how Dr. Izzo will explore how leaders, citizens, businesses and organizations adapt to meet these growing challenges. The new era will require a new kind of leadership as well as attention to the system itself that has accelerated these crisis.
John Izzo, Ph.D., a coach and friend of John Edwin Mroz, is a bestselling author and one of the most sought after voices on leadership. He has spoken to more than one million people, taught at three major universities, advised more than 750 organizations and been featured in the media by Fast Company, PBS, CBC, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and INC magazine. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia where he is co-founder of Blueprint, an NGO dedicated to a new model for men and masculinity.
“Coalition leadership in post-conflict states”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with James Creighton
November 14, 2022, 6pm
Wells Fargo Auditorium, Beatty 115
James Creighton will explore the leadership lessons derived from his unique opportunity to design a nine-nation NATO brigade, build a multinational military and civilian team, and command what was designated as Combined Team Uruzgan. Combined Team Uruzgan engaged in counterinsurgency operations, combat, peacekeeping and nation-building activities.
Honorable James Creighton is a State Representative in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and the Chief Executive Officer for Eagle Point Global Solutions, LLC. He has coordinated and executed high-level discussions in Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Berlin, Belgium, among others. His book “Coalition Leadership: Combined Team Uruzgan, 2010-2011” will be published by the Marine Corps University Press in 2023.
Spring 2022
“Forging a Coalition in Favor of Freedom Around the World”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Damon Wilson
January 27, 2021
Join us for a talk on democracy and democratic renewal around the world. Our guest is Damon Wilson, President CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, non-profit, non-partisan foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democracy throughout the world. Prior to joining the Endowment, he helped transform the Atlantic Council into a leading global think tank as its executive vice president. Previously, Wilson served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council helping to enlarge a Europe whole, free, and at peace; to secure freedom through NATO enlargement; to deter and counter Russian aggression; and to work with a united Europe as a leading US partner to support democracy in the world. This talk is a co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Charleston (WACC) and the Mroz Global Leadership Institute.
“US-EU relations and security challenges”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Belgium Ambassador to the US Jean-Arthur Régibeau
January 26, 2021
Ambassador Régibeau will discuss the US-EU relations and security challenges. This talk is co-sponsored by the Mroz Global Leadership Institute, the Department of German and Russian Studies, and the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs.
Ambassador Régibeau served as the diplomatic advisor to the Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2002 and he went on to be First Secretary at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin. In 2016, he served as Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus & Uzbekistan.
Fall 2021
“The Forcibly Displaced: Global Response to Refugee Crises“
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Ambassador Allan Rock
November 8, 2021
Today millions of people are displaced around the world due to conflicts, violence, persecution, and natural disasters. Displaced people face many challenges related to basic needs such as safety, shelter, food, health, and education, to name just a few. Who is responsible for the safety and protection of displaced people? Allan Rock will discuss the role of individual countries, international organizations, and the international community in protecting the lives and the rights of displaced people.
Allan Rock is president emeritus and a professor of law at the University of Ottawa and senior adviser at the World Refugee and Migration Council. He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the UN and as Justice Ministers and Health Minister. Rock is president emeritus and a professor of law at the University of Ottawa and senior adviser at the World Refugee and Migration Council. He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the UN and as Justice Ministers and Health Minister.
“The art and value of diplomacy in an interconnected world,”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with Dr. Richard Haass
October 14, 2021
Does the Vegas rule – what happens there stays there – apply to today’s world? Richard Haass’ answer to this question is “no.” He suggests that events outside our borders affect all of us and shape our understanding of the world. We cannot simply ignore the outside world. Dr. Haass will discuss the challenges of our interconnected world and the role of diplomacy in addressing these challenges.
Richard Haass is the President of the Council on Foreign Relations, a veteran diplomat, and a prominent voice on American foreign policy. He is a veteran diplomat and an established leader of nonprofit institutions.
“US-China Relations: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects,”
Mroz World Affairs Colloquium Series with David Firestein
October 4, 2021
US-China relations have deteriorated in the past years as the two states engaged in disputes about trade, human rights in Hong Kong, technological competition, security concerns in the South-China Sea, and the status of Taiwan. David Firestein will discuss the US-China relations and the prospects for the future.
David Firestein is the president and CEO of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations and he is an expert on China, Russia, diplomacy, and foreign policy. The Voice of America’s Mandarin Service wrote in 2016 that Firestein is “one of the world’s best non-native speakers of Mandarin Chinese.”
“Understanding International security and addressing global challenges,”
Fireside chat with Deborah Lee James
September 24, 2021
In the next 20 years, our country and world will face unprecedented challenge and complexity. Changing climate, aging populations, disease, financial crises and technologies that divide more than they unite, are straining societies and governments. At the international level, the world will be shaped by China’s competition with the US and Western led international system, with a greater risk of conflict. Meanwhile, North Korea, Iran and terror will continue to threaten the US and our allies. How should the US and the international community address these challenges? Deborah James served as the 23rd Secretary of Air Force. She spent 11 years at SAIC, government technology contractor working on cyber security and technological innovations. SAIC has an office in North Charleston. She is the author of “Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success.”