Dr. Matthew Jenkins ('23) will discuss what drives states to pursue a space policy and the competitive landscape that is outer space.

About the Lecture: 

The lecture provides a historical overview of space competition, highlighting what drives states to go to space. The lecture concludes with an overview of the new landscape of space power competition in 2023 and highlights the role of non-state actors, commercial space, and dual-use systems including how they all combine to make space less transparent, and more unstable than it has ever been.

About the Speaker: 

Dr. Matthew Jenkins (’23) had spent 16 years serving in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, where he built and operated satellites to support the military and the Intelligence Community. He was ready to learn additional skills beyond engineering. After falling in love with strategic-level policy during an assignment on Capitol Hill, he decided to pursue IWP’s Doctor of Statecraft of National Security to connect his technical expertise to an in-depth understanding of space policy issues. As a result, he has interfaced with the National Space Council at the Executive Office of the President and briefed the House Homeland Security Committee staff on emerging space challenges.

***Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academic-programs/
***Make a gift to IWP: https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=18

The Changing Dynamics of Outer Space Competition with Dr. Matthew Jenkins

About the Speaker:

Jim Carter is a Senior Fellow with the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Prosperity. Previously, as Director, he oversaw the Center’s operations, including research and policy development impacting economic growth, tax and budget policy, regulation, trade, and labor productivity.

For nearly a decade, Jim was Vice President of Government Affairs at Emerson, a diversified global manufacturing and technology company based in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to managing Emerson’s global, federal, and state government affairs, Mr. Carter’s lobbying portfolio included tax policy, international trade, and management of the company’s political action committee.

Before joining Emerson, Mr. Carter served in the Bush and Clinton Administrations, as a senior staff member on the Senate Budget Committee, and as a policy advisor to former Senators John Ashcroft, Sam Brownback, and Connie Mack.

Jim has served as a Deputy Undersecretary at the Department of Labor, a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury, and Associate Director of the National Economic Council at the White House. While at the Treasury Department, he received the Secretary of the Treasury’s “Exceptional Service Award” and a separate award for his work on behalf of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.

Mr. Carter has been published more than 200 times on fiscal policy, economics, and other public policy matters for leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Caller, and USA Today. He is a frequent speaker, including as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University and as a lecturer in the Public Management program at Johns Hopkins University. Jim is a 2014 recipient of Johns Hopkins University’s “Excellence in Teaching” award. He also appeared in season three of House of Cards, playing a U.S. senator.

Jim recently served on the board of directors for both the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the National Capital Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. He is a former president of the Business-Government Relations Council, a non-profit organization that seeks to increase governmental awareness of the role of business in national affairs.

He holds degrees from George Mason University and Truman State University.

The Perspective of an American Advisor to Putin's Transition Team

About the Lecture: Until about two decades ago, Israel imported 98 percent of its energy requirements from far off places on the globe. Although located in a region rich in oil and gas, relation of political enmity with the producers effectively rendered the Jewish state an energy island, isolated from intra-regional energy trade and electricity grids. Securing energy supply from abroad has always been a major concern of Israeli policymakers. However, with the discovery of natural gas in its Mediterranean waters, Israel’s energy-dependent status is changing rapidly. Today, close to 70 percent of Israel’s electricity is generated from natural gas; the rest comes from imported coal. Israel’s transportation still relies exclusively on imported oil, a small amount of which is also used in industrial, residential and commercial sectors. To meet its growing energy requirement and vulnerability vis-à-vis the imports of fossil fuels, Israel – similar to other large energy consumers, such as, India, China and Turkey – has evolved a multi-faceted energy security strategy, which has six essential components. These include, broadening of import; pursuit of proximate supply sources; constant search for indigenous energy; development of renewables and alternatives; ensuring physical security of energy installations; and promotion of energy efficiency. This lecture will talk about each of these components and assess the on-going transformation of Israel’s energy status from import-dependency to energy self-sufficiency that is underpinned by the gas discoveries.

About the Speaker: Dr. Sujata Ashwarya is Associate Professor in the Centre for West Asian Studies [Middle Eastern], Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. She received her MPhil and PhD degrees in West Asian Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was awarded research fellowships at the Rothberg International School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (MSH) and Centre d’Etudes et des Recherches Internationales (CERI), Paris; and the Schusterman Centre for Israel Studies, Brandeis University, USA. She was also affiliated as a researcher at the Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Iran. Her research interests cover a wide range of areas related to politics, economics and international relations of West Asia. Of primary focus are the domestic development, foreign policy and strategic-security issues (especially those related to Iran, Iraq and Israel), politics of energy, conflict and peace-making, and themes related to civil society and democratization in the region. She also has a strong interest in exploring India’s West Asia policy. A frequent traveler, Dr Ashwarya has presented more than 50 research papers in national and international conferences and seminars. She has more than 30 published research articles and has written, edited and co-edited 5 books. Her books include, Israel’s Mediterranean Gas: Domestic Governance, Economic Impact, and Strategic Implications (Routledge, 2019), Contemporary West Asia: Perspectives on Change and Continuity (co-edited; Routledge, 2019); India-Iran Relations: Progress, Problems and Prospects (Routledge, 2017); Essays on Iran and Israel: An Indian Perspective(Knowledge World, 2014); and Civil Society, Democracy and State in West Asia (edited; New Century, 2010).

Israel’s Energy Security and Strategy: Changing Dynamics in the Age of Gas

The Institute of World Politics is a graduate school of national security and international affairs, dedicated to developing leaders with a sound understanding of international realities and the ethical conduct of statecraft, based on knowledge and appreciation of the principles of the American political economy and the Western moral tradition.

**Please note that the views expressed by our guest lecturers do not necessarily reflect the views of The Institute of World Politics.**

The Perspective of an American Advisor to Putin's Transition Team

The Institute of World Politics

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