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Symposia, Conferences, and Series

Below you will find a chronological list of current Council projects. You can search by issue or region by selecting the appropriate category. In addition to this sorting control, you can search for specific subjects within the alphabetical, regional, and issue categories by choosing from the selections in the drop-down menu below.

Each project page contains the name of the project director, a description of the project, a list of meetings it has held, and any related publications, transcripts, or videos.

1998

April 15, 1998—April 15, 1998

Asia Conference

January 1, 1998—February 1, 1998

Asia Energy Roundtable

Director:	Robert A. Manning, Senior Adviser, Atlantic Council

The Asia Energy Roundtable surveyed the energy needs of China, India, and the Asia-Pacific countries, whose choices are destined to shape world markets, security dynamics, and environmental concerns in the 21st century. The roundtables addressed three axes of the energy picture: commercial and security issues in the period to 2020; oil, gas, and nuclear power; and East Asian countries as major drivers of demand. The meetings defined the focus of an ensuing study group that is exploring in more depth the various aspects of the Asian energy and security picture against a background of environmental considerations.

January 30, 1998—January 30, 1998

Conference on Nigeria

Directors:	Barnett R. Rubin, New York University Salih Booker

For Africa and those concerned with it, no country poses a greater challenge and a greater risk than Nigeria. Though internal conflicts and misrule persist, Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - is potentially an anchor of West African stability and a test of the U.S. commitment to supporting democracy on the continent. Therefore, Washington must define its relationship with Nigeria if it is going to make good on its overall policy of engaging Africa. The Conference on Nigeria brought together a diverse group of Americans and Nigerians from the policy, academic, activist, religious, business, and political communities to assess current trends in Nigeria and explore the development of a comprehensive U.S. strategy toward Nigeria. Among other topics, conference participants discussedthe role ot transnational businesses, non-governmental organizations, and religion in Nigeria.

January 1, 1998—Present

Daughter and Sons Event Series

April 4, 1998—April 4, 1998

Diversity Conference

January 1, 1998—Present

Energy Security Group

Chair:	William F. Martin
Staff:	Judith Kipper

The Energy Security Group meets regularly to discuss policy options for the United States, Japan, and the international community on a broad range of energy security issues including nuclear proliferation and energy, global warming, energy supply and demand, and the science and technology which has a direct impact on energy security. The Energy Security Group has been funded by the Japan Atomic and Industrial Forum (JAIF) since 1995. The Forum has established an Energy Security Group in Japan as well.

October 1, 1998—April 30, 2001

George F. Kennan Roundtable on Russia at the Crossroads

Director:	Paula J. Dobriansky

This ongoing roundtable serves as a forum for comprehensive scrutiny of all aspects of Russia’s evolving political, economic, social, and foreign policy, and defense developments. The overall goal is to assess the trends underway, with a particular focus on the current political and economic crisis gripping Moscow; to grasp the interrelationships among the factors involved; and to develop a full range of alternative scenarios for Russia’s future by highlighting what constitute the key policy drivers. This year’s roundtable focused in particular on the ramifications and influence of the recent Kosovo crisis on Russian foreign policy. It also focused on the developments leading up to the elections for the Duma and presidency and their impact on U.S.-Russian relations.

February 6, 1998—Present

IMF Conference 1998

January 1, 1998—August 1, 2001

Independent Task Force on Reducing the Risk of Nuclear War

Director:	Morton H. Halperin

June 1, 1998—June 28, 1999

Independent Task Force on Strengthening Palestinian Public Institutions

Chair:	Michel Rocard
Staff:	Henry Siegman, Former Senior Fellow and Director for the U.S./Middle East Project, Council on Foreign Relations

Project Coordinator: Scott Lasensky The Independent Task Force on Strengthening Palestinian Public Institutions was established to systematically assess the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, its structure and procedures, its ability to set priorities and to allocate resources, and its transparency and accountability. The Task Force is supported by the European Commission and the Government of Norway. Following publication of its report, “Strengthening Palestinian Public Institutions” (1999), the Task Force was asked by the Palestinian Authority, the European Commission and the Government of Norway to assist in implementing the report’s proposals for reform. The Task Force periodically reviews and evaluates the reform effort and consults regularly with senior officials from the Palestinian Authority and international institutions.

June 1, 1998—September 1, 1998

Independent Task Force on U.S. Policy Toward India and Pakistan in the Wake of the Tests

Director:	Morton H. Halperin
Staff:	Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations

December 1, 1998—February 28, 2001

Independent Task Force on U.S.-Cuban Relations in the 21st Century

Chairs:	Bernard W. Aronson William D. Rogers
Staff:	Julia E. Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director for Latin America Studies Walter Russell Mead, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy

January 1, 1998—Complete

International Board Missions to the Middle East

Staff:	Henry Siegman, Former Senior Fellow and Director for the U.S./Middle East Project, Council on Foreign Relations

The International Board of the U.S./Middle East Project undertook two missions to the Middle East this year. The October 1999 mission covered six countries, where the board held meetings with government and business leaders, including Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia; Sultan Qaboos of Oman; Sheikh Hamad, emir of Qatar; President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen; and King Abdullah of Jordan. In March 2000, the board met Moroccan government and business leaders in a mission to Rabat and Casablanca. Led by Senior Fellow Henry Siegman, the delegation included International Board members from the United States, France, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

November 1, 1998—July 1, 2003

Next Generation Fellow Roundtable

Director:	Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Chair:	Allan E. Goodman

This roundtable brings together Council Next Generation Fellows and Term Members with a group of Fulbright scholars and students in New York and Washington, D.C., to discuss breaking issues on the foreign policy agenda. The Council’s younger scholars are the featured speakers in this series, which aims to foster networks among the next generation of foreign policy professionals as they debate the questions that drive the international agenda today and in the years to come.

June 1, 1998—February 1, 2000

Roundtable on China’s Nuclear Weapons and the Future of Arms Control

Director:	Robert A. Manning, Senior Adviser, Atlantic Council
Chairs:	Ronald Montaperto Brad Roberts
Staff:	Richard K. Betts, Adjunct Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

This ongoing roundtable series brings together leading specialists on China and nuclear weapons to assess China’s nuclear doctrine, strategy, perceptions, and modernization strategy and their implications for the U.S. and the region. These issues will be assessed with a view toward the prospects of nuclear arms reductions. A written analysis of the conclusions derived from last year’s roundtable sessions was produced.

October 1, 1998—May 1, 1999

Roundtable on Country Risk Analysis in the Post-Asia Crisis

Directors:	Albert Fishlow Barbara Samuels
Chair:	Robert D. Hormats
Staff:	Roger M. Kubarych, Henry Kaufman Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics and Finance

This roundtable analyzed the role country risk analysis played in the Asian financial crisis and subsequent meltdowns in Russia and Brazil. The group, consisting of foreign investors, rating agency analysts, developing country borrowers, and representatives of multilateral agencies and emerging market governments, critically re-evaluated the standard methodology, analytical approaches, and data utilization that are used in assessing sovereign risk. A report detailing the findings of the group will be published in the fall of 1999.

February 1, 1998—March 1, 1998

Roundtable on Humanitarian Demining: Can We Stop the Slaughter of Innocents?

Director:	Richard L. Garwin

This roundtable took stock of the existing effort in the United States (military and nonmilitary) and through the United Nations to reduce the huge number of civilian casualties from antipersonnel mines. Sesions focused on technological opportunities to lower the cost of removal and organizational needs to improve coordination of the international effort. Participants considered the possible use of economic instruments to promote innovation and better use of demining technologies in the field.

December 1, 1998—December 31, 1999

Roundtable on Partnering for Peace: A Unified Field Approach for the New Millennium

Director:	Allan Gerson

This roundtable reviewed the dilemmas of peace building through an examination, in particular, of events in Bosnia, West Bank/Gaza, and Mozambique. It analyzed the efforts being made at the United Nations under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and at the World Bank under President James D. Wolfensohn. Drawing on this analysis, it recommended creation of a new entity—a Peace Transitions Council—to engage the United Nations, the World Bank, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector in coordination of functions and implementation of strategy. If successful, resurgence of popular and governmental support for relief, reconstruction, and creation of "civil" societies could be expected. The product was a report submitted to the World Bank in April 2000.

February 1, 1998—March 1, 1998

Roundtable on the Management and Disposition of Excess Nuclear Weapons Material

Director:	Richard L. Garwin

This series fostered discussion on how to ensure excess fissile material from decomissioned nuclear weapons is not converted back into weapons, notably by terrorists. The focus was on the former Soviet Union, where disposition options include the support by Western governments for Russian fuel fabrication plants to reprocess excess plutonium as well as the outright U.S. purchase of five hundred tons of high-enriched uranium from Russian weapons. On the U.S. side, participants discussed the merits of privatizing the U.S. Enrichment Corporation, which manages the flow of materials for use in U.S. civilian nuclear reactors.

July 1, 1998—July 31, 2000

Study Group on a New Paradigm for U.S.-Japan Economic Relations

Director:	Bruce Stokes
Chairs:	Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) Rep. Amory Houghton (R-N.Y.)

U.S.–Japan economic relations face growing friction. Japan’s trade surplus with the United States, always a political problem, is at record levels. Yet these two economic colossi are becoming ever more integrated, creating systemic friction because of differing regulatory systems and philosophies about markets. Based on the experience of the Bush Administration’s Strategic Impediment Initiative and the Clinton Administration’s Framework talks, this study group sought to develop a new paradigm for U.S.–Japan economic negotiation, focusing on macroeconomic issues, regulatory reform, sector-specific problems, and a political dialogue. Bruce Stokes published a short paper informed by the group’s deliberations.

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