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The United States and the Future of Global Governance Symposium
Director:
Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance
May 7 and 8, 2009 - New York, NY
From the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression to the dangers of nuclear proliferation, from the specter of global warming to the threat of mass atrocities, the United States and the world community confront an array of global challenges requiring robust cooperation. Yet many multilateral frameworks have failed to keep pace with tremendous changes in world politics. Shifts in the global distribution of power, the emergence of influential non-state actors, and the rise of new transnational issues to the top of the global agenda now cloud the utility and effectiveness of international institutions and structures that in some cases date back to the Second World War. On May 7-8, 2009, the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) hosted its first annual conference. Over the course of six sessions the symposium explored the efficacy and strucutre of international institutions and their role in helping U.S. policymakers confront the challenges of the day.
This event was supported by a grant from the Robina Foundation.
R. Nicholas Burns, Former Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Ellen Laipson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Henry L. Stimson Center
David F. Gordon, Head of Research, Eurasia Group
Moderator:
Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions, Council on Foreign Relations
"I don't think it's sustainable for the United States to continue to think that we can essentially dominate the international landscape -- the way we certainly did during the unipolar moments that we had during the Cold War, say, 9/11. We need other countries to resolve nearly every issue on our top agenda. We just can't exist alone anymore.
So, it's a reflection of reality...it's smart politics for us, but also a reflection that we have to govern and lead in a more consensual way." -R. Nicholas Burns
Session 2: Strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime
Speakers:
Charles D. Ferguson, Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations
Christopher A. Ford, Director, Center for Technology and Global Security, Hudson Institute
Paul Lettow, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Moderator:
Henry Sokolski, Executive Director, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
We do have a very tremendous enforcement problem, and the international community has a miserable track record of late. The Iranian enrichment effort which began as part of a weapons program, continues. The North Korean program continues. Their defiance of the international community, in many respects, continues. The international community cannot afford to have a fifty percent track record in fighting nuclear weapons proliferation. That's not acceptable. -Christopher Ford
Session 3: The Financial Crisis and Global Financial and Monetary Cooperation
Speakers:
Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, and Deputy Director of Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Steven Dunaway, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
Daniel W. Drezner, Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
"If you're thinking about stimulus globally, stimulus works when you give it to people who need it and are going to spend the money, and poor people really need it. If you're giving money to poor countries, you're going to get more stimulus." -Sebastian Mallaby
Session 4: Tackling Climate Change
Speakers:
Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior International Affairs and Trade Advisor, Baker & Hostetler LLP and former Under Secretary, Democracy and Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment, Council on Foreign Relations
William John Antholis, Managing Director, The Brookings Institution
Moderator:
Jessica T. Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
"...we will move forward, we will act, but we also believe for the end result, having a treaty and agreement, that others have to move forward as well and make commitments. Because if you only have a certain percentage of countries globally, you're not going to be effectively reducing greenhouse gas" -Paula J Dobriansky
Session 5: The Use of Force and Accountability in International Law - A U.S. Perspective
Speakers:
Matthew C. Waxman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
John B. Bellinger III, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law, Council on Foreign Relations
David J. Scheffer, Professor of Law, Northwestern University
"I think the focus should be more on how do we structure our policies within widely accepted traditional frameworks of international law, but develop an approach to it such that if we are in non-compliance with that law, rather than trying to change it so that the law says you are in compliance now for doing X, Y, and Z, we have enough political capital internationally to be able to say to the rest of the world: 'Today we actually understand that your perspective is that we're not in compliance with international law. We may even agree with you on that point. But you know what we've done to get to this point. We had to do this, we think, to save the lives of 30,000 people at risk in northern Sri Lanka, or wherever it might be. And we'll accept the risk politically of how you view our action today.'" -David J. Scheffer
Session 6: H1N1 - The Global Response to the Swine Influenza
"...if we're really serious about protecting humanity we need to better integrate the sort of veterinary side, the animal and wildlife side, of our surveillance, our investigation, our monitoring and our response, with the public health side" -Laurie A. Garrett
Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior International Affairs and Trade Advisor, Baker & Hostetler LLP and former Under Secretary, Democracy and Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment, Council on Foreign Relations
William John Antholis, Managing Director, The Brookings Institution
Moderator:
Jessica T. Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
What will be the most effective forums for international cooperation in regulating the global commons, and what leadership role should the United States play on these issues? What are the prospects for a climate change agreement at Copenhagen in 2009, and what role should the United States play? What are the prospects for "mini-lateral" cooperation-especially between the United States, European Union, China, and India-among major emitter countries?
Matthew C. Waxman, Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations
John B. Bellinger III, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International and National Security Law, Council on Foreign Relations
David J. Scheffer, Professor of Law, Northwestern University
Moderator:
Jeffrey Toobin, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
Do current trends in international law threaten U.S. sovereignty? What international legal or normative restraints on the use of force should the United States accept and promote? What should be the place of international law in U.S. jurisprudence? What attitude should the United States take toward the International Criminal Court?
R. Nicholas Burns, Former Under Secretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Ellen Laipson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Henry L. Stimson Center
David F. Gordon, Head of Research, Eurasia Group
Moderator:
Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions, Council on Foreign Relations
What is the U.S. role in a world of shifting and competing power dynamics? Are U.S. interests best served through greater involvement in multilateral fora? Where should the United States take a leadership role in working to address global challenges through international institutions, and where should it cede such a role to others?
Charles D. Ferguson, Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology, Council on Foreign Relations
Christopher A. Ford, Director, Center for Technology and Global Security, Hudson Institute
Paul Lettow, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Moderator:
Henry Sokolski, Executive Director, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center
What stake does the United States have in the global nonproliferation regime as it currently exists? What are the risks and rewards of bilateral arrangements with countries such as India? How can loopholes in the NPT be closed? Should the United States ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty? What are the lessons of voluntary initiatives, such as the Proliferation Security Initiative, for a coalition approach to nonproliferation?
Sebastian Mallaby, Director of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics, and Deputy Director of Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Steven Dunaway, Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations
Daniel W. Drezner, Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
Moderator:
Michael J. Elliott, Editor, Time International
What new forms of international financial and monetary coordination and regulation are required in light of the global economic crisis? How should the United States work to reform the Bretton Woods Institutions? Should the BRICs and other developing countries have an increased role at the IMF and World Bank? What are the preconditions for a U.S.-China bargain on global monetary and financial issues?
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair +1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC) jlindsay@cfr.org
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.