This study group examines Russia's considerable influence in international gas markets and proposes strategies that the United States might pursue to either reform or out-manuever Russia's dominant gas supplier, Gazprom. Particular attention will be paid to the role of liquified natural gas (LNG) in the gas markets of future, as well as the role of domestic power consumption, regulation, and conservation in determining future demand.

The findings from this study will help Dr. Victor write a scholarly article to be placed in a major foreign policy journal.

The Kennan Roundtable is an on-going series of meetings that focus on the major policy questions posed by changing U.S. relationships with Russia and the former Soviet states of Eurasia. Whether measured by the near-alliance between Presidents Bush and Putin, the establishment of bases in Central Asia, or Ukraine's decision to seek NATO membership, there has been significant enhancement of these relationships since September 11. Understanding their durability and direction is the principal aim.

Meetings examine areas of expanding cooperation, such as Moscow's unfolding energy strategy and the security of sensitive nuclear materials. We will also look at emerging areas of discord. In the case of Russia, these include the tensions associated with its recurrent pressures on Georgia; in the case of Ukraine and Central Asia, the continuing emphasis placed by U.S. policy on democratization and human rights.

This series provides a forum for policy experts, U.S. and foreign government officials, and journalists to discuss specific items on the G8 agenda and to assess the progress being made in achieving the goals set forth at the June 2004 summit meeting.

The Kennan Roundtable is an on-going series of meetings that focus on the major policy questions posed by changing U.S. relationships with Russia and the former Soviet states of Eurasia. Whether measured by the near-alliance between Presidents Bush and Putin, the establishment of bases in Central Asia, or Ukraine's decision to seek NATO membership, there has been significant enhancement of these relationships since September 11. Understanding their durability and direction is the principal aim.

Meetings examine areas of expanding cooperation, such as Moscow's unfolding energy strategy and the security of sensitive nuclear materials. We will also look at emerging areas of discord. In the case of Russia, these include the tensions associated with its recurrent pressures on Georgia; in the case of Ukraine and Central Asia, the continuing emphasis placed by U.S. policy on democratization and human rights.

This series provides a forum for policy experts, U.S. and foreign government officials, and journalists to discuss specific items on the G8 agenda and to assess the progress being made in achieving the goals set forth at the June 2004 summit meeting.

This series provides a forum for policy experts, U.S. and foreign government officials, and journalists to discuss specific items on the G8 agenda and to assess the progress being made in achieving the goals set forth at the June 2004 summit meeting.

This series provides a forum for policy experts, U.S. and foreign government officials, and journalists to discuss specific items on the G8 agenda and to assess the progress being made in achieving the goals set forth at the June 2004 summit meeting.

This series provides a forum for policy experts, U.S. and foreign government officials, and journalists to discuss specific items on the G8 agenda and to assess the progress being made in achieving the goals set forth at the June 2004 summit meeting.

The activities carried out under this study group during previous years have supported the development of the project director’s recently published book, The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-first Century. Throughout the Fall, the project director will promote his by holding Council meetings in New York, Washington, and across the country. Following this book promotion, the project director will begin research on a new book, building on the first, related to America’s role in the world.

This roundtable seeks to identify key "over-the-horizon" issues related to the upcoming EU and NATO enlargements and explore both the anticipated as well as potentially unanticipated consequences of them, each of which will dramatically increase the institution's size and scope. The first two sessions, held in March and April of 2003, laid out the general issues at stake in each enlargement, while subsequent sessions will examine issues such as the future of the Euro, the effect of the enlargements on countries further to the East, and European demographic trends.

The Kennan Roundtable is an on-going series of meetings that focus on the major policy questions posed by changing U.S. relationships with Russia and the former Soviet states of Eurasia. Whether measured by the near-alliance between Presidents Bush and Putin, the establishment of bases in Central Asia, or Ukraine's decision to seek NATO membership, there has been significant enhancement of these relationships since September 11. Understanding their durability and direction is the principal aim.

Meetings examine areas of expanding cooperation, such as Moscow's unfolding energy strategy and the security of sensitive nuclear materials. We will also look at emerging areas of discord. In the case of Russia, these include the tensions associated with its recurrent pressures on Georgia; in the case of Ukraine and Central Asia, the continuing emphasis placed by U.S. policy on democratization and human rights.

The activities carried out under this study group during previous years have supported the development of the project director’s recently published book, The Ideas that Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-first Century. Throughout the Fall, the project director will promote his by holding Council meetings in New York, Washington, and across the country. Following this book promotion, the project director will begin research on a new book, building on the first, related to America’s role in the world.

This roundtable seeks to identify key "over-the-horizon" issues related to the upcoming EU and NATO enlargements and explore both the anticipated as well as potentially unanticipated consequences of them, each of which will dramatically increase the institution's size and scope. The first two sessions, held in March and April of 2003, laid out the general issues at stake in each enlargement, while subsequent sessions will examine issues such as the future of the Euro, the effect of the enlargements on countries further to the East, and European demographic trends.

The South Asia Roundtable series addresses U.S. policy in the region, key domestic economic and political shifts in India and Pakistan, as well as the prospects for peace between the two countries. Initiated in June 2002, the series took as its starting point the heightened U.S. interest in both India and Pakistan – for different reasons. From sanctioned states, both have become policy priorities in the post 9/11 world.

The Roundtable draws on a range of speakers – government officials, scholars, development aid practitioners, and analysts from the United States and the region to help inform U.S. foreign policy debates about South Asia. Invitees are primarily Council members as well as a few regional experts. To date, fifteen roundtables have been convened; and, in 2005 attendance averaged over 40 persons per session with some sessions attended by close to 50 persons. Member interest in the region has grown substantially. The roundtables are the only such in-depth, regular forum in New York City.

The 2005 South Asia Roundtable series has focused more closely on Pakistan as its changing political, economic and security circumstances are having significant repercussions not only inside the country but also in the broader global community. Pakistan continues to present one of the most complex policy challenges for the U. S. administration. In addition, the Indo-Pakistan peace process and India’s domestic and foreign policy under the new Congress government have received attention.

Specific 2005 roundtable topics have included the state of aid and development in Pakistan where security remains the biggest concern for international donors; challenges posed by Pakistan’s nuclear program and the A.Q. Khan network in the context of the non-proliferation regime; and, the problematic relationship of the army and religious parties in Pakistan. The roundtables also have explored U.S. interest in helping India attain major power status; new directions in Indian foreign policies towards Pakistan and China; and China’s emerging regional and global role as it relates to India, Pakistan, and U.S. foreign policy in Asia.

The South Asia Roundtable series is made possible through a grant from Ford Foundation.

The U.S.-Asia Update Roundtable Series is an ongoing series that provides a forum for the discussion of the major issues that shape Chinese domestic policies and that have an impact on the U.S. relationship with China and the rest of the region. The Roundtable cosponsors events with the Council’s General Meetings and Corporate programs. Recent sessions have included speakers such as Michael Green, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; Major General Karl Eikenberry; and Randall Schriver, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Approximately six sessions are held each program year.

This series is made possible through generous support from the Starr Foundation.