Master of Science in Foreign Service

Events

The School of Foreign Service, its centers, and institutes play host to an impressive array of lectures, conferences and other public events. MSFS students help organize many events, enhancing their educational experience and establishing contacts that they will keep as they continue their careers.

Visit the School of Foreign Service events calendar, or the main campus events calendar to browse upcoming events.

Upcoming and Recent Events:

Amb. Mark Lagon Delivering the William V. O'Brien Lecture in International Law & Morality

Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the US Department of State will be delivering the William V. O'Brien Lecture in International Law and Morality. The Lecture will take place on April 9, 2008 at the Leavey Center, Salon AG, at Georgetown University. The Event is open to the public and the press.

Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang

Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang came to Georgetown April 3 to discuss the impact of the Yahoo! International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet Fellowship Fund at Georgetown. 

Ambassador Series: Chile

Ambassador of Chile to the United States H.E. Mariano Fernandez was at Georgetown April 2 for a conversation about the current situation of Chile and the challenges it faces in the future.

America's Role in the World

Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) released its new working group report, "America's Role in the World: Foreign Policy Choices for the Next President," and hold a panel discussion Wednesday, February 27, 2008 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Interculteral Center's Auditorium.

The panel will feature Project Co-Chairs, Thomas Pickering, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Chester Crocker, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, as well as ISD and Project Director, Casimir Yost. Also featured on the panel will be project participants Harriet Babbitt, former Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Alvero De Soto, former UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

Democracy in Taiwan: The Implications of the 2008 Taiwan Elections

The Asian Studies Program and the Mortara Center for International Studies at Georgetown University The Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution invite you to a workshop on Democracy in Taiwan: The Implications of the 2008 Taiwan Elections for Taiwan, China and the United States Thursday February 21, 2008 Georgetown University, Copley Formal Lounge 9:30 AM: Opening Remarks Dr. Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Professor of History, Georgetown University Dr. Richard Bush, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, Brookings Mr. Charles W. Freeman III, Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS 10 AM: The View from Taiwan Dr. Emile C.J. Sheng, Chairman of the "Research, Development and Evaluation Commission" of the Taipei City Government; Professor of Political Science, Soochow University Dr. Hsu Szu-chien, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica Dr. Shelley Rigger, Brown Associate Professor of East Asian Politics, Davidson College 12-1:30 PM: Lunch Speaker: Dr. Paul Heer, National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, National Intelligence Council 1:45-3:45 PM: The View from Beijing and Washington Ms. Bonnie Glaser, Senior Associate, International Security Program, CSIS Dr. Michael Green, Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Senior Adviser and Japan Chair, CSIS Dr. Robert Sutter, Visiting Professor, Georgetown University This seminar will introduce the key issues and dramatic context of the Taiwan election season: what is at stake in the elections and what they mean for Taiwans political scene, cross-Strait relations, and U.S. interests.

Ambassador Series: Colombia

Her Excellency Carolina Barco will speak February 20 on all issues related to Colombia and its place in the region.

 

Conversations with Ambassadors: Amb. of Kazakhstan

 

 

 

The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, CERES, and the Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy present: "Conversations with Ambassadors: Kazakhstan and U.S.-Kazakhstan Relations" with Erlan Idrissov Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States on February 19.

 

Ambassador Erlan Idrissov, a senior career diplomat, will discuss current trends in Kazakhstan's political and economic development, its role in Central Asia and the world, and its multi-faceted relationship with the United States. Kazakhstan's future trajectory will have a significant impact on the long-term stability, prosperity, and democratic transformation of Central Asia and the broader region.

Improving Intelligence Tradecraft

INSA-CPASS INTELLIGENCE SPEAKER SERIES presents Improving Intelligence Tradecraft James R. Clapper Jr. Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Thursday, February 14.  Lt Gen James Clapper, USAF (Ret.) will discuss today's greatest intelligence challenges, addressing problems ranging from detecting weapons of mass destruction programs to the crafting of intelligence estimates.

Mr. Clapper is the principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense regarding intelligence, counterintelligence and security matters. He has held numerous senior military and intelligence positions in his career and was a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Security Studies Program. Please join us for this timely and important discussion. Lunch will be available

Key Global Issues with Thomas Graham

This session of ISD's Key Global Issues seminar, at noon on Wednesday, February 13, will feature a talk on Russia and U.S.-Russian relations by Thomas Graham, until recently special assistant to the president and senior director for Russia on the National Security Council. The meeting will be cosponsored by the Center for European, Russian, and East European Studies (CERES) program. Professor Angela Stent, who directs the CERES program, will introduce Mr. Graham.

One of the leading American authorities on Russia, Mr. Graham was a key White House interlocutor with the Putin government during his five years on the NSC staff -- he made seven trips to Russian in 2006 alone. A former Foreign Service officer who served a couple of tours of duty at the U.S. embassy in Moscow and held many Russia-related positions in the State Department, Mr. Graham is now senior director at Kissinger McLarty Associates.

Ron Paul Says U.S. Weakening Constitution

 

Transformational Diplomacy: The Honorable Condoleezza Rice,  U. S. Secretary of State

Secretary Rice will speak February 12 on the evolution of Transformational Diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy since she first presented the topic at Georgetown in January 2006.

More information about the Secretary's speech is available at http://explore.georgetown.edu/news/?ID=31268.

U.S.-Russia Relationship: Recent Developments, Next Steps with Dan Fried

ISD and CERES present on February 11 Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. 

Assistant Secretary Daniel Fried is the most senior U.S. official responsible for European and Eurasian Affairs. He handles U.S. policy not only toward Russia, but also NATO, the European Union, and the Balkans. He will focus his remarks on U.S.-Russian relations, including cooperation on counterterrorism and counter-proliferation; and areas of concern such as democracy, missile defense and energy security. Prior to being sworn in as Assistant Secretary in 2005, he served at the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and, previously, as U.S. Ambassador to Poland.

 

 

Key Global Issues series with James Warlik

ISD's Key Global Issues series will resume on Wednesday, February 6, when the speaker will be James Warlick, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs ("P-DAS: in State lingo), . His subject is "A New Way of Looking at America's Role in Multilateral Diplomacy."

This will be a high-value session. An authentic and highly regarded authority on multilateral diplomacy, Jim Warlick is highly qualified to talk about this aspect of foreign policy at a time when its role in American diplomacy has become an area of controversy and disagreement among government officials, the U.S.political leadership, and academic and think-tank circles. Before taking on his present job, he ran the important State Department office dealing with the United Nations. His regional specialty is Europe. He's held senior positions in Russia and Germany as well as key policymaking assignments in Washington offices dealing with political-military and security issues for Europe and the former Soviet Union.. He's also part of a Foreign Service "tandem couple." His wife Mary is the senior official on the National Security Council staff dealing with Russia.

Conversations with Ambassadors: Ambassador of Bangladesh Humayun Kabir

Humayun Kabir, the Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States, will discuss "Bangladesh and U.S.-Bangladesh Relations" on February 5. The meeting will be cosponsored by the Asian Studies Program and the South Asian Society.

Although overshadowed in recent months by events in Pakistan, Bangladesh too faces a critical political situation. Its fragile democratic institutions have been put on hold following a quasi-coup backed by the military a year ago. Many now fear that the country could witness a dramatic rise in Islamic extremism and become a dangerous staging ground for terrorist forces. Ambassador Kabir, a senior career diplomat, will try to put the situation in perspective and help us understand what his government intends to do to restore democracy and promote stability in the country. He'll be prepared to answer your questions (which we don't doubt will be tough).

 

An Insider's Story of US Policy in Iraq: Experiences from a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Featuring US Foreign Service Officer, Christopher Curran

The MSFS Middle East North African Forum is very excited to present a special guest speaker February 4.

Chris Curran graduated from Dartmouth in 2003 then lived in Morocco for three years, first as a Peace Corps volunteer and then a Fulbright Scholar. After the conclusion of his Fulbright study he joined the US Foreign Service and immediately volunteered to go to Iraq. After several months in the Green Zone, he was transferred to a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the southern province of Muthanna, which borders Saudi Arabia. He returned from the PRT in December 2007 and is currently living in Washington training for his next posting. Chris has generously offered to come and speak with the MENA Forum about his experiences on the PRT and answer questions we have. And as always, drinks and snacks will be served!

Trends in US-China Relations: A Lecture by Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, China, Taiwan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, U.S. Department of State

The Asian Studies Program, Department of Government, and the Master of Science in Foreign Service present Thomas J. Christensen, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs with responsibility for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia on January 30.

He is on public service leave from Princeton University, where he is Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Director of the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program. His research and teaching focus on China’s foreign relations and the international relations of East Asia. Before arriving at Princeton in 2003, Professor Christensen taught at Cornell University and MIT. He received his B.A. from Haverford College, M.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.

Professor Christensen has served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and as co-editor of the International History and Politics series at Princeton University Press. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. As an academic, he has consulted often for the U.S. Government and in 2002 was presented with a Distinguished Public Service Award by the United States Department of State.

 

The Iden Lecture

Begun in 1976, these lectures on American foreign policy and international diplomacy commemorate the late Mr. and Mrs. Iden, who provided the endowment for this series. Oscar Iden was a School of Foreign Service graduate, class of 1924.

The Twenty-sixth Iden Lecture was given by The Hon. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The lecture, "The United States, the United Nations, and the Crisis in the Broader Middle East," was delivered to students, faculty and invited guests on campus on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007.

In April 2007, he began as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations. From 2005 to 2007, Dr. Khalilzad was the United States Ambassador to Iraq. From 2003 to 2005, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and also as Special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan. Before becoming Ambassador to Afghanistan, he served at the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Islamic Outreach and Southwest Asia Initiatives, and prior to that as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southwest Asia, Near East, and North African Affairs.

More information about the Iden Lecture, including text and audio of Ambassador Khalilzad's speech is available at http://isd.georgetown.edu/iden.cfm.

Diplomacy in a Dangerous World: A Conversation with America's Top Diplomats

On October 29, 2007, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy hosted a roundtable with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns, and his predecessors as Under Secretaries from past administrations. This was a rare opportunity to hear from the nation’s top diplomatic practitioners together in one room. The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is the third most senior position in the State Department, and traditionally at the center of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy formulation. Present for the discussion were R. Nicholas Burns, David D. Newsom, Marc Grossman, Robert Kimmitt, and Thomas R. Pickering.

The discussion with Georgetown students is provided in pdf form on the ISD website.

Announcements

• MSFS students to benefit from a $1 million dollar gift from Yahoo! Inc. to establish a Yahoo! International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet Fellowship Fund at the School of Foreign Service. The fund will support the education and research activities of an annual Yahoo! Fellow in Residence and two Junior Yahoo! Fellows who will study the link between international values and Internet and communication technologies.

   

• The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation awarded Georgetown University $3 million that will enable MSFS students to register for courses teaching entrepreneurial skills and receive financial support for overseas summer internships that put those skills into practice.

   

• USA Today profiles Dr. Victor Cha, MSFS Professor and President Bush's top adviser on North Korea.

   

• MSFS Professor and head of the International Conflict Management concentration, Chester Crocker, offers new book on how to best prevent, manage and resolve conflicts around the world.

   

• Daniel Sullivan, JD/MSFS '93 has been appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

   

• The Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Forum hosts “Tales of the Iraq War.” Current MSFS students share their personal experiences in Iraq and discuss perspectives on the current situation.

   

• Annual “Trip to New York” exposes MSFS students to career opportunities in Business, Banking, Consulting, Media, NGOs, and the United Nations.

   

Calendar