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 Lecture
If America’s center, its citizenry, is not strong, our nation cannot lead internationally: If the United States falters, despotic regimes, led by the People’s Republic of China, will fill the void created, heralding ruin. America can only succeed in this quest if it works most diligently with established as well as new allies. This requires that a new global alliance for freedom be built, which links together established and nascent alliance structures that venerate liberty and the primacy of the individual.

To act boldly, America must marshal an integrated strategy that spans the entirety of hard, sharp, and soft power in order to protect freedom, security, and prosperity in the face of unprecedented threats, which may be recognized, emergent, or liminal in nature. The building blocks for this renaissance in global leadership already exist but are only partially assembled. To erect this structure, timeless values must be fused with emerging technologies and geopolitical realities, to induce needed change.

Book Synopsis
America’s future will be unlimited if we return to wholesomeness, gratitude, and vision, for we must rise as one people, or we shall fall as many. Pillars for Freedom charts a brave path forward to imbue America with strength, economic security, and virtue. The American Experiment is unique in history in its conception of liberty, which is freedom from oppressive government and its yoke.

We are a nation that rests on the rule of law and not the imperfections present in all humankind. Today, the bureaucratic state, which controls our government, relies on diversion, untrue narratives, and misdirection to cover incompetence and gross misdeeds. This cannot be our country’s standard. The maintenance of liberty rests upon our faith, our Founding, our families, and our commitments to uncorrupted education and science. Pillars for Freedom describes in consummate detail the powers America must reconstitute and wield in order to reclaim our destiny. Through marshaling our priceless heritage, we can rebuild our military, secure economic strength, and reassert energy dominance, as we erect our civil society. The book describes the actions America must take in all these spheres.

Purchase the book here

About the Speaker
Richard B. Levine served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Technology Transfer and Security Assistance. He directed the Department of the Navy’s organization in these matters during the Reagan administration. Richard previously served on the National Security Council staff, in the White House, as Director, International Economic Affairs, and as Director, Policy Development. Richard holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy, with honors, from the Johns Hopkins University. Richard is the recipient of two presidential letters of commendation and the Department of the Navy’s highest honor given to a civilian employee, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award.

Richard serves as a senior advisor to former government officials, including Michael R. Pompeo, on matters involving national security, strategy, and international economics. He is the author of the new book, Pillars for Freedom. He is the coauthor, with Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter and Robert C. McFarlane, of America’s #1 Adversary. Richard lives in North Carolina with his wife, Terry.

Book Lecture: Pillars for Freedom

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.**

Book Lecture: Pillars for Freedom

The Institute of World Politics

Related tracks