The Foreign Policy Association’s "Great Decisions" Program
Every year for the last 40 years, the League of Women Voters in Williamsburg has participated in the Foreign Policy Association’s “Great Decisions” program. This program is America’s largest discussion program on world affairs. According to the FPA website, the program model involves reading the Great Decisions Briefing Book, watching the DVD, and meeting in a Discussion Group to discuss the most critical global issues facing America today. You can read more about this here. https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/?act=gd_about2. I haven’t been able to find out exactly how many discussion groups there are, but there appear to be thousands across the country. You can find one near you by clicking on this link. https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/index.cfm?act=find_gd_group
A NOTE: If you don’t know much about the League of Women Voters, you should check them out. The League describes itself as “a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels.” The League was founded in 1920 by the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, but it’s not just for women anymore. In Virginia, the League provides great information about what’s going on in the state legislature and localities and also sponsors a lot of civic education programs — like the one I’m writing about today. You can find out more about the history of the League at this link. https://www.lwv.org/about-us/history. That’s also where you can find information about your local chapter.
Each year, the Foreign Policy Association selects eight topics to be included in that year’s program. They then produce a briefing book and CD to guide each group’s discussion. Here are this year’s topics. (I’ve put them in the order that the League of Women Voters in Williamsburg is using. Because the LWV doesn’t use the CD but rather recruits local or regional presenters (many of them from William and Mary ) to keynote each week’s discussion, the order of the topics differs slightly from the FPA’s suggested calendar. These descriptions are taken from the FPA website.
Week 1: Global Famine: What causes famine? How can it be prevented in the future? (February 7)
Fears of global food shortages have followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted grain shipments from the major grain producer. But what about countries and regions that were suffering before this impending shortage? How is famine defined, and how is it different from simple food shortages?
Speaker: Dr. Molly Jahn (Dr. Jahn will present on Zoom only. You can watch at home or at the Williamsburg Library Theatre.)
Dr. Molly Jahn is the founding principal of the Jahn Research Group and professor and former Dean of the College of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She sits on numerous boards and committees, and consults globally for business, universities, governments, philanthropic organizations, and international multi-lateral institutions in agriculture, food security, risk in food systems, disaster risk reduction, life sciences, and environment.
Week 2: Climate Migration: How is climate change impacting human migration? (February 14)
As climate change accelerates and drought and rising sea levels become more common, millions of people in affected regions must uproot themselves and seek safety elsewhere. Who are these affected individuals, and how might the United States aid them, and be affected by the migration?
Speaker: Dr. Andrea Simonelli (Dr Simonelli will present on Zoom only. You can watch at home or at the Williamsburg Library Theatre.)
Dr. Andrea Simonelli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at VCU. She focuses on governance responses to human migration to address internal and cross-border displacement due to climate processes. She earned a diploma from the United Nations University Environment and Human Security Programme and Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre Summer School in Forced Migration. She is a speaker for the Climate Voices Network and a member of many organizations working on these issues. She is the author of Governing Climate Induced Migration and Displacement: IGO Expansion and Global Governance.
Week 3: War Crimes: What is a war crime? How does this definition apply to recent events in Ukraine? (February 21)
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in widespread charges of war crimes and calls for justice. But what exactly are war crimes? Opinions of what constitutes a war crime have evolved, as have ways to identify and punish the perpetrators. How will the war crimes committed in Ukraine be dealt with?
Speaker: Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo (Zoom and in person at the Williamsburg Library Auditorium)
Dr. Kelebogile Zvobgo is an Assistant Professor of Government at William & Mary and founder and director of the International Justice Lab. Her research broadly engages questions in human rights, transitional justice, and international law and courts, and has been published in such journals as International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Human Rights, and Foreign Affairs. She has appeared on major news outlets.
Week 4: Energy Geopolitics: How will changes in the energy industries impact relations between countries? (February 28)
Access to oil and gas has long held an influence over the politics of individual nations and their relations with others. But as more countries move toward sustainable energy, and supply chain shortages affect the availability of oil and gas, how will this change the way in which the United States interacts with the outside world?
Speaker: Dr. Carolyn Kissane (Zoom and in person at the Williamsburg Library Auditorium)
Dr. Carolyn Kissane serves at New York University s Academic Director of the graduate programs in Global Affairs and Global Security, Conflict and Cybercrime at the Center for Global Affairs and is a Clinical Professor where she teaches graduate-level courses examining the geopolitics of energy, comparative energy politics, energy, environment and resource security, and climate change and security. She has received numerous excellence in teaching awards at NYU. She was named Breaking Energy’s Top Ten New York Women in Energy and Top Ten Energy Communicator.
Week 5: Elections in Latin America: What does the emergence of various left-wing governments mean for countries in Latin America? (March 7)
Electoral results in Latin America over the past four years have led many observers of the regional/political scene to discern a left-wing surge in the hemisphere, reminiscent of the so-called “Pink Tide” that swept the area some 20 years ago. But how much do these politicians actually have in common? What implication does their ascendency have for the region?
Speaker: Ambassador Christer Persson (Zoom and in person at the Williamsburg Library Auditorium)
Ambassador Christer Persson spent his career as a member of the Swedish Foreign Ministry. With the Ministry, he held various positions at the home-office and abroad largely addressing Latin American affairs. For 4 1/2 years he served as Senior Adviser for Latin American Affairs at the European Council Secretariat, Directorate General for International Affairs. In retirement he is Adjunct Prof in Political Science at Old Dominion University.
Week 6: Chinese Foreign Policy: How will the United States respond to China's growing global presence? (March 14)
For the past ten years, the United States and China have been locked in a competition for who has the greatest global influence. One major point of contention is the status of Taiwanese sovereignty, which has become even more relevant recently with the possibility that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may prompt China to take similar action regarding Taiwan. How will the United States engage a China which is increasingly seeking to expand its sphere of influence?
Speaker: Andrew Mertha (Zoom and in person at the Williamsburg Library Auditorium)
Andrew Mertha is the George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies, Director of the China Studies Program, and Director of the China Global Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He specializes in Chinese bureaucratic politics, political institutions, and the domestic and foreign policy process and has written three books on contemporary China. He provides expert advice to those shaping US China policy and is a frequent commentator on major media outlets.
Week 7: Iran and the Gulf States: What is the future for relations between Iran and the U.S.? (March 21)
By the fall of 2022, Iran was in a state of turmoil due to widespread protests against government-enforced wearing of the hijab, a failing economy, an ineffective new president, and the looming succession of the country’s leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Abroad, renewal of the Iran nuclear deal seemed doubtful and tensions remain high between Iran, Israel, and Arab states. Many Iranians have lost hope of a better future, and the country seems at a crossroads. How should the United States deal with it?
Speaker: Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Zoom and in person at the Williamsburg Library Auditorium)
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson is the Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government and Public Policy, the College of William & Mary. After a distinguished 31-year career in the US Army which included serving on the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College, as Director of the U.S. Marine Corps War College and as Special Assistant to General Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Col. Wilkerson retired in 1997 and began working with General Colin Powell. This led to his role as Powell’s Chief of Staff during the latter’s tenure as Secretary of State. He has been a frequent speaker for our Great Decisions program.
Week 8: Economic Warfare: What comprises economic warfare? How have these measures been used recently against Russia? (March 28)
Waging economic warfare consists of a variety of measures from implementing sanctions to fomenting labor strikes. Such tools are utilized by states to hinder their enemies, and in the case of the United States have been used as far back as the early 19th century. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, economic warfare has been the main means for the west to challenge Russia. How effective will these sanctions be at convincing Russia to cease its war?
Speaker: Dr. Bruce Jentleson (Zoom only. You can watch at home or at the Williamsburg Library Theatre.)
Dr Jentleson is William Preston Few Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at Duke University, as well as a 2022 Distinguished Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He received the 2018 American Political Science Association (APSA) International Security Section Joseph J. Kruzel Award for Distinguished Public Service. He has served in such US foreign policy positions as Senior Advisor to the State Department Policy Planning Director (2009-11). He is the author of Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2022).
The FPA provides a lot of resources to help people understand these complicated topics – a glossary of terms, discussion questions, and a national opinion ballot that lets you share your views with other program participants.
In Williamsburg, the League of Women voters handles registration for this program, which is offered in the auditorium of the public library. Registration costs $65.00 per person; this fee entitles registrants to a printed book that contains facts and analysis for the topics.
Here’s the registration link for this program in Williamsburg. The program will be offered via Zoom as well as in person, so you can join in if you want. https://www.lwvwilliamsburg.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=252623&module_id=541412#:~:text=The%20League%20of%20Women%20Voters,outstanding%20speakers%20to%20our%20area.
I have registered for this year’s program and I’m looking forward to getting smarter about world events. These sessions are on Tuesday mornings: every Thursday through the end of March, I plan to write about the topic for that week. I may not be able to attend the first session – I’m teaching an Osher class that afternoon and I may have things to do – but I plan to attend the others. For the in-person sessions, I’ll meet up with friends at the library auditorium and then some of us will probably go out to lunch afterward.
Just another reason it’s great to live in Williamsburg.