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WorldBoston

WorldBoston was founded in 1961 as the Boston Center for International Visitors, a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect hundreds of emerging leaders from around the globe each year with their counterparts in Greater Boston's business, government, academic, cultural and scientific communities. In 2002, the organization merged with the World Affairs Council of Boston, a nonpartisan forum founded in 1949 to engage the public in discussions about critical international issues. WorldBoston today is an active independent member of both the National Council for International Visitors and the World Affairs Councils of America, and a dynamic and respected community leader in Boston.s global network. With its expertise in fostering international exchanges and unique mix of educational programs, WorldBoston continues to build on its distinguished tradition of promoting dialogue among leaders, cross-cultural connections and public learning.

http://www.worldboston.org/

John Brennan: Undaunted

Tue, Feb 9, 2021

In this brutally honest memoir, John O. Brennan, the son of an Irish immigrant who settled in New Jersey, describes the life that took him from riding a motorcycle and wearing a diamond earring as a young CIA recruit enamored with spy work, to being the most powerful individual in American intelligence. He details his experiences serving under six presidential administrations, three Republicans and three Democrats, and what it’s been like to bear responsibility for some of the nation’s most crucial and polarizing national security decisions. _Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad_ offers a rare and insightful look at the often obscured world of national security, the intelligence profession, and Washington’s chaotic political environment. What emerges is a portrait of a man striving for integrity; for himself, for the CIA, and for his country.

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China’s Role in Africa

Tue, Feb 16, 2021

The Covid-19 crisis has put a massive strain on what was growing a positive economic and political relationship between China and the continent of Africa. As Chinese President Xi Jinping’s centerpiece “Belt and Road initiative” continues to expand Chinese power, the response to the spread of Covid-19, as well as the African government’s growing debt to China, has seen pushback. What are some of the growing economic and political issues between China and Africa? Hear a discussion on these themes with Dr. Lina Benabdallah, an assistant professor of Politics and International Relations at Wake Forest University. Image: WorldBoston

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Red Sea Security

Tue, Jan 26, 2021

The Red Sea has remained vital for global trade since the time of ancient Egypt. Once home to the spice trade, the Red Sea now sees millions of barrels of oil a day transported across its waters. With major nations like China, France, Italy, and the U.S. building large ports and bases in the region, what does the future of the region look like? How important is Red Sea security for global security? Can the region be a place of global cooperation? Image: WorldBoston

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Business & Tourism in the Post-Covid World

Thu, Jan 28, 2021

The final installment of The Mission Persists 2020 series is a conversation with Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili and Executive Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant. Under Brilliant’s leadership, the Chamber developed the largest international government relations program of any U.S. trade association, conducting programming in over 50 markets. During the past decade, Brilliant has strengthened the organization’s ties to the global network of American Chambers of Commerce and foreign business associations and deepened engagement with multilateral and regional organizations, including the G20, IDB, IMF, World Bank, and WTO. Between 2009 and 2010, he was Minister of Economic Development of Georgia. As a Minister of Economic Development of Georgia, Mr Pololikashvili was responsible for overseeing the country’s long-term fiscal growth strategies, advancing foreign trade and investment policy initiatives as well as for promoting the development of the tourism, infrastructure and transportation sectors. He was instrumental in launching an innovative policy for the development of tourism in Georgia, prioritizing the sphere on both the government and private sector agendas. Image: WorldBoston and Pexels.com

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Great Decisions: Struggles Over the Melting Arctic

Wed, Mar 24, 2021

U.S. President Donald Trump left many scratching their heads when it was rumored that he was looking to purchase the large island nation of Greenland from Denmark. While any potential deal seems highly unlikely, the event shows the changing opinion within the U.S. government toward engagement with the Arctic region. Because of climate change, large sheets of arctic ice are melting, exposing vast stores of natural gas and oil. With Russia and China already miles ahead with their Arctic strategies, can the U.S. catch up? Image: Jean-Christophe André, Pexels

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Chat & Chowder with Dr. Nicholas Christakis: Apollo's Arrow

Wed, Jan 13, 2021

_Apollo's Arrow_ offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic as it swept through American society in 2020, and of how the recovery will unfold in the coming years. Drawing on momentous (yet dimly remembered) historical epidemics, contemporary analyses, and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines, bestselling author, physician, sociologist, and public health expert Nicholas A. Christakis explores what it means to live in a time of plague — an experience that is paradoxically uncommon to the vast majority of humans who are alive, yet deeply fundamental to our species. Unleashing new divisions in our society as well as opportunities for cooperation, this 21st-century pandemic has upended our lives in ways that will test, but not vanquish, our already frayed collective culture. Featuring new, provocative arguments and vivid examples ranging across medicine, history, sociology, epidemiology, data science, and genetics, _Apollo's Arrow_ envisions what happens when the great force of a deadly germ meets the enduring reality of our evolved social nature. Image: Book Cover

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U.S. Relations with the Northern Triangle

Mon, Nov 30, 2020

Combatting illegal immigration is a priority for the Trump administration. The Northern Triangle of Central America, made up of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, is a special target of the administration, which hold those nations responsible for the large flow of migrants from Latin America to the U.S. [In 2019, the administration redirected approximately $405 million of aid intended for the Northern Triangle to other foreign policy priorities](https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF10371.pdf), according to the Federation of American Scientists. Lisa Haugaard is the Executive Director of the [Latin America Working Group](https://www.lawg.org/), an organization focused on mutual respect, justice, and a shared commitment to the human rights of all the peoples of the Americas. She shared her view of the current migration crisis and answered many audience questions.

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Anne Searcy: Ballet in the Cold War

Mon, Dec 7, 2020

In 1959, the Bolshoi Ballet arrived in New York for its first ever performances in the United States. The tour was part of the Soviet-American cultural exchange, arranged by the governments of the US and USSR as part of their Cold War strategies. _Ballet In The Cold War_ explores the first tours of the exchange. American fans lined up overnight to buy tickets to the Bolshoi, and Soviet audiences packed massive theaters to see American companies. But the tours also began a series of deep misunderstandings. American and Soviet audiences did not view ballet in the same way. Each group experienced the other's ballet through the lens of their own aesthetics. Americans loved Soviet dancers but believed that Soviet ballets were old-fashioned and vulgar. Soviet audiences and critics likewise appreciated American technique and innovation but saw American choreography as empty and dry. Drawing on both Russian- and English-language archival sources, this book demonstrates that the separation between Soviet and American ballet lies less in how the ballets look and sound, and more in the ways that Soviet and American viewers were trained to see and hear. It suggests new ways to understand both Cold War cultural diplomacy and twentieth-century ballet. Image: Book Cover

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The Philippines and the U.S.

Mon, Dec 14, 2020

The Philippines has had a special relationship with the United States since the islands were ceded by Spain to the United States after the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century. However, since the election of Rodrigo Duterte, the country has pivoted more toward China, and away from the U.S. Duterte has also launched a large-scale war on drugs that many criticize for its brutality. What does the future hold for U.S, relations with the Philippines? Image: WorldBoston

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National Security: A Conversation with General H.R. McMaster

Thu, Nov 12, 2020

Across multiple administrations since the end of the Cold War, American foreign policy has been misconceived, inconsistent, and poorly implemented. As a result, America and the free world have fallen behind their rivals in power and influence. Meanwhile, threats to security, freedom, and prosperity, including nuclear proliferation and jihadist terrorism, have grown. In Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World, H.R. McMaster lays out a comprehensive indictment of a quarter century of flawed policies and strategies, told from his perspective as a soldier, commander, scholar, and national security advisor. A central theme of the book is what he calls “Strategic Narcissism” — a mind-set that all too often leads presidents and their advisors to craft policies based on wishful thinking and to define problems as one may like them to be rather than to understand them on their own terms. Overcoming Strategic Narcissism, McMaster argues, is critical to defending America and the free world from grave and developing threats.

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