The health of the world has expanded from a humanitarian issue to an issue of national security and economic growth. Global health not only has an impact on most of the foreign policy objectives we hope to achieve, but also a direct effect on the health of Americans, especially as globalization frays our national boundaries. A focus on health is part of a foreign policy agenda that aims at building a more secure world, draws all countries into a growing network of interdependence that sustains stability and maintains America’s central role within that network. This roundtable series brings leaders from the foreign policy and health communities together to discuss the recommendations of the CFR-Milbank Memorial Fund report, “Why Health is Important to U.S. Foreign Policy,” and to discuss contemporary topics that form the nexus between global health and U.S. foreign policy

Bio-terrorism is the one of the deadliest threats facing the United States today. This roundtable, in light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, discusses measures to protect against or mitigate the effects of such a bio-terrorist attack by asking questions such as:

• What is the potential for a significant bioterrorist attack on the United States;

• What public health and related measures can be taken in advance of an attack to reduce their impact;

• Are we currently equipped to deal with the consequences of an attack?

• What type of biological agents can terrorists get their hands on?

• Can they keep them alive and grow enough of them to mount a significant attack?

• Can they weaponize them effectively to mount a massive attack that puts tens to hundreds of thousands at risk;

• How much money is needed to prepare the United States for a large scale biological terrorist attack?

• How the money should be allocated, which programs/agencies should be funded?

Papers for the November 30 Meeting of the Innovation Project

In an era marked by globalization of production and concern about employment, the advanced industrialized nations have taken solace in their command of knowledge-intensive industries. But now a growing number of corporations are moving R&D abroad and outsourcing research to foreign firms. The study group focused on the dynamics and limits of this globalization of R&D and investigates its consequences for the U.S. economy. Presentations focused on five technology-based indistries: biomedical products, software, semiconductors, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. A report summarizing the conclusions and policy recommendations, Exporting U.S. High Tech, was released in late 1997.

While fighting AIDS and promoting universal education have long been important development priorities, the recent spread of the epidemic in Africa and elsewhere has made the relationship between AIDS and education delivery critical to the success of both efforts. Not only is the scourge of AIDS spreading – every minute, someone somewhere becomes newly infected with HIV; two-thirds of those people are in sub-Saharan Africa – but AIDS is now severely damaging an institution critical to preventing its spread: the schools.

Roundtables in this series aim to bring the AIDS and education advocacy communities together to discuss their shared challenges with senior policy makers and top experts and identify best practices for addressing them.

In March 2002, the European Union embarked on a $3.2 billion project to build a fee-for-service satellite navigation system, “Galileo.” The United States has operated the Global Positioning System (GPS) for nearly 25 years and, since 1983, has made GPS signals freely available to users worldwide – since 1998 without limitation on accuracy. GPS is a critical resource for a wide variety of civil and military applications, including positioning, navigation, mobile communication, the internet, and international banking.

In light of the enormous importance of GPS to the United States and hundreds of millions of users worldwide, the prospect of a second – competing and potentially interfering – global satellite navigation system could have serious military, foreign policy, and industrial implications. The Bush administration has expressed various views on Galileo and would benefit from a heightened awareness of risks and possible opportunities for the United States.

This series of Roundtable meetings has been convened to bring together high-level European and American representatives of government, industry, academia, and the policy community for constructive dialogue about global satellite navigation. Specifically, the group will address the European Union's proposed Galileo initiative and its implications for the U.S. GPS system. We will meet in the United States and Europe, in conjunction with IFRI (Institut Français des Relations Internationales). Our discussions will focus on identifying "win-win-win" situations to benefit U.S. and E.U. interests as well as the global user community.

This series assesses innovation and technological entrepreneurship in Asia, evaluates the impact of emerging technological capabilities on American economic, political, and military power, and recommends policies designed to ensure continued U.S. technological superiority.

This roundtable brings together policymakers, practitioners, journalists, academics, and other concerned individuals for face-to-face dialogue on specific issues concerning refugees and the internally displaced. Recent subjects have included Sudan, Kosovo, Chechnya, the continuing refugee crisis in Africa, the internally displaced in Afghanistan, the problem of land mines as an impediment to refugee repatriation, the role of illicit diamond trade in perpetuating civil strife, and ways to improve collaboration among the governments, the United Nations, humanitarian relief organizations, and human rights groups.

Since September 11, 2001, refugees and displaced persons have become key issues in both the causes and effects of terrorism. Humanitarian assistance is already an integral part of the overall U.S. and international response to the terrorist attacks on the United States. This roundtable will examine the humanitarian consequences of military action; the impact of tightening borders on internal displacement and the refugee problem; the role of immigration policy in curbing terrorism; the impacts of the new anti-terrorism campaign on international refugee protection; and the relationship between military and relief operations.

Afghanistan’s future is now largely in the hands of the United States and the international community. This roundtable, led by a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, will explore the ways in which the United States, the UN, World Bank, and others should best deal with a post-Taliban Afghanistan by asking questions such as: How likely is a sudden collapse of the Taliban and what are the implications; What are US and international goals in the region; and how do we achieve those goals, i.e., what is the role of the United States, UN, other countries?

This study group is assessing the pros and cons of partition as a solution to the growing number of ethnic conflicts around the world, with a special emphasis on peace processes to bypass or overcome the hostilities of partition. The participating scholars and practitioners are undertaking a comparative study of five cases of de facto or de jure ethnic partition—India-Pakistan, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Israel-Palestine, and Bosnia-Herzegovina—to determine what lessons can be drawn for future conflict prevention, resolution, stabilization, and reconstruction. The group’s analysis and recommendations will be highlighted in a book by Radha Kumar as well as on a website and possibly a CD-ROM.