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Diplomatic Discussions

This series of expert talks and panel discussions provides Carolina students with inside perspectives on the world of foreign policy, by inviting diplomats and national security practitioners—traditionally accessible only in Washington, D.C.—to UNC-Chapel Hill.

Upcoming Events

Past Events

To bring top foreign affairs practitioners to UNC-Chapel Hill, some of these events are in collaboration with campus partners including the College of Arts and Sciences, the Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy and the Krasno Global Affairs & Business Council.

Kristjan Prikk, Estonian Ambassador to the U.S.

Russia, Ukraine, Europe and Beyond: Objectives, Risks, Opportunities

“Brussels Sprouts” Podcast Recording, Hosted by Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend from the Center for a New American Security

Russia, Ukraine and Putin’s 5th Term

Alonzo L. Fulgham, Anthony “Bud” Rock and Robert O. Blake, Jr., for the annual Joseph J. Sisco Forum with the American Academy of Diplomacy

What is environmental diplomacy?

Jarmo Sareva, Finnish Consul General to the U.S. in New York City

From Neutrality to Alliance: Finland One Year After Joining NATO

Katherine Tai, United States Trade Representative

A New Approach: Ambassador Katherine Tai and the Biden-Harris Administration’s Worker-Centered Trade Policy

Charles Ries, One of the State Department’s most noted experts on the formation of the EU and beyond

Why Brexit Matters: British Illusions and the Future of the Transatlantic Community

Rana Foroohar, Financial Times columnist and CNN analyst

•   Homecoming: The Past to Prosperity in a Post Global World

Piper Campbell, former U.S. chargé d’affaires to ASEAN and former U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia

•   Indonesia in International Relations

Marek Magierowski, ambassador of Poland to the U.S.

•  Poland, NATO and Russia’s War on Ukraine

Ambassador Dennis Ross, former special assistant to former President Obama, and Ghaith al-Omari, former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine

•  Prospects For Peace: The Israeli-palestinian Peace Process

Frederick W. Smith, founder and executive chairman of FedEx Corporation

•  FedEx Global Ed Center Anniversary with FedEx Founder Frederick W. Smith

Kent Logsdon, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Moldova

•  Moldova: Russia’s War on Ukraine and The Road to Europe

Xu Sitao, chief economist and partner of Deloitte China, Kaiser Kuo of the China Project, co-founder of the Sinica podcast and editor-at-large of Supchina, and Sarah Kutulakos, executive director of Canada China Business Council

•  China After the National Congress: The Chinese Economy and New Political Developments  

Winston Lord, former U.S. ambassador to China

•  Nixon and Kissinger’s Opening to China: A Good or Bad Idea with Hindsight

National Intelligence Council officers, authors of the National Intelligence Estimate on Climate Change

•  Panel Discussion – National Security Impact of Climate Change

•  POLI 89: Global Politics of Climate Change

•  PWAD 250: Intro to Peace and Security Studies

•  PWAD 359: Comparative History of National Intelligence Regimes

Bisa Williams, former U.S. ambassador to Niger

•  POLI/PWAD 150: Introduction to International Relations

•  POLI 452: Africa and International Conflict

David Gilmour, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

•  POLI 452: Africa and International Conflict

Jean-Arthur Régibeau, Belgian ambassador to the U.S.

US-EU Transatlantic Security Relations

Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil

Careers in International Affairs and Global Development

•  PWAD/CMPL 489H: Empire And Diplomacy

•  PLCY 717: Institutional Analysis for Public Policy

•  PWAD 150: International Relations and Global Politics

•  POLI/PWAD 459H: Transatlantic Security

Ben Hodges, retired Lt. General and former commander in chief of the U.S. Army in Europe, and Kapitän zur See Ivo Schneider, Embassy Washington.

NATO & Its Challenges: A German and an American View

Mary Yates, former U.S. ambassador to Ghana

Lessons from A Diplomatic Career in Africa

•  PWAD 363: Ethical Issues in Intelligence and National Security

•  AAAD 101: Introduction to Africa

•  PWAD 150: International Relations and Global Politics

Andrew Elliott, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau, Northern Ireland Executive

Northern Ireland & The Journey to Peace and Reconciliation: The Eu Factor Then and Now

Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine

A Discussion with Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch

Harold Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law at Yale Law School 

Suing Russia for Ukraine at the World Court

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