Geopolitics and Analysis

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.

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

On June 5, 2018, Dr. Christopher D. Yung explores China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s version of the Marshall Plan, during a lecture "Who's Afraid of China's Belt and Road Initiative? Getting to the Heart of China's Controversial Marshall Plan" at The Institute of World Politics.

Who's Afraid of China's Belt and Road Initiative?

GPF Director Jacob Shapiro welcomes special guest Dario Fabbri, Senior Analyst at Limes, to talk about Italy's view of Europe. Along the way, they touch on Italy's relationship with the U.S., Germany's lack of strategy and France's double-edged demographic advantage. Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here:  https://goo.gl/zt6tzx

Italy's View of France and Germany

This week, the head of NATO wrote a column politely reminding everyone about the use of the military alliance. Can NATO continue to meet the needs of all its members? Sign up for free updates on topics like this! Go here:  https://goo.gl/zt6tzx

Is NATO Obsolete?

Kings Maritime Seminar Series 2017-2018. Helen Sellers presents on the topic of 'Australia and India at Sea: The Contemporary Security implications of Two Maritime Histories from ancient to modern times.'. The seminar took place on the 7th December 2017 in the Department of War Studies, Kings College London.

Maritime Seminars 2017-2018: Australia and India at Sea: Contemporary Security, Helen Sellers

Author John Lehman talked about his book "OCEANS VENTURED: Winning The Cold War at Sea" during a lecture on June 25, 2018, at The Institute of World Politics.

About the Book:

A thrilling story of the Cold War, told by a former navy secretary on the basis of recently declassified documents. When Ronald Reagan took office in January 1981, the United States and NATO were losing the Cold War. The USSR had superiority in conventional weapons and manpower in Europe, and had embarked on a construction program to gain naval preeminence. But Reagan already had a plan. Reagan pushed Congress to build the navy back to its 1945 strength of 600 major ships. He gathered a circle of experienced naval planners, including the author, to devise an aggressive strategy that would move our fleets within spitting distance of Soviet waters. New radars, sensors, and emissions technology would make ghosts of our submarines and surface fleets. We would operate aircraft carriers in Arctic waters, which no navy had attempted. The Soviets, surrounded by our forward naval strategy, bankrupted their economy trying to keep pace. It wasn’t long before the Berlin Wall fell and the USSR was disbanded.

About the Author:

John Lehman, a former U.S. Navy pilot, served as United States Secretary of the Navy from 1981 to 1987. From 2003 to 2004 he was a member of the 9/11 Commission. He lives in New York.

OCEANS VENTURED: Winning The Cold War at Sea

Mr. Roy Kamphausen gave a lecture called "America’s Generational Challenge: China" at The Institute of World Politics on July 18, 2018.

About the Lecture: Roy Kamphausen will address the multi-faceted series of structural challenges that China presents to the U.S.

About the Speaker: Roy D. Kamphausen is Senior Vice President for Research at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR). He provides executive leadership to NBR’s policy research agenda on security, politics, energy, economics, and trade. Mr. Kamphausen directs NBR’s engagement with the administration, U.S. Congress, and foreign embassies in Washington, D.C. and integrates the work of Admiral Jon Greenert, NBR’s Shali Chair in National Security Studies, with ongoing programs and new initiatives.

As a specialist on a range of U.S.-Asia issues, Mr. Kamphausen leads and contributes substantively to NBR’s research initiatives. He is the author, contributing author, or co-editor of numerous publications, including chapters in NBR’s Strategic Asia series; the Carlisle People’s Liberation Army Conference series and its most recent volume, The Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2025 (co-edited with David Lai, 2015); an NBR Special Report on innovation in India (2015); and the IP Commission’s Report on the Theft of American Intellectual Property (2013). His areas of expertise include China’s People’s Liberation Army, U.S.-China defense relations, East Asian security issues, innovation, and intellectual property protection. He has presented on these topics throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe to government and corporate decision-makers. Mr. Kamphausen is frequently cited in U.S. and international media, including CNN, the Financial Times, Foreign Policy,National Public Radio, Newsweek, and the New York Times.

Mr. Kamphausen is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a senior adviser on East Asia for the University of Connecticut’s Office of Global Affairs. He lectures regularly at leading U.S. military institutions, including the United States Military Academy (West Point) and the U.S. Army War College. Mr. Kamphausen regularly briefs members of Congress and consults for the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to joining NBR, Mr. Kamphausen served as a career U.S. Army officer. As a China foreign area officer, his career included assignments as China policy director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, China strategist for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Mr. Kamphausen holds a BA in Political Science from Wheaton College and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University. He studied Chinese at both the Defense Language Institute and Beijing’s Capital Normal University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Asia Society, and the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. He is married to Arminda and they have three children—Abigail, Hudson, and Delaney.

America’s Generational Challenge: China

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.**

America’s Generational Challenge: China

The Institute of World Politics

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