Week in DC: Events 1.11-1.15.2016

Monday, January 11, 2016
Space Weapons And The Risk Of Nuclear Exchange –Atlantic Council
Time: noon-2pm
Location: Atlantic Council1030 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20005 (map), Room: 12th Floor (West Tower)
January 11 marks the ninth anniversary of China’s first anti-satellite (ASAT) test, which made China the third country—after the United States and the former Soviet Union—to test a destructive ASAT capability. The 2007 test galvanized a debate in the United States about America’s increasing vulnerability to counterspace technologies. Many scholars believe that over the last few years, China has invested in counterspace capabilities that challenge the US “command of the commons.” China’s 2007 test also sparked a debate on an arms race in space that could someday trigger an inadvertent nuclear exchange between the United States and China, or between India and China.

On January 11, 2016—building on a 2015 feature published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in its Development and Disarmament Roundtable series—the South Asia Center along with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will convene a panel of experts to discuss the danger that anti-satellite weapons pose to global security. Panelists will include Dr. Nancy Gallagher, Senior Research Scholar at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy; Dr. Joan Freese, Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College; Dr. Gaurav Kampani, Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. The panel will be moderated by Mr. Lucien Crowder, Senior Editor at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The conversation will be initiated with a special keynote address by Ms. Mallory Stewart, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Emerging Security Challenges and Defense Policy at the US Department of State.

Leaders Speak – Defense Secretaries- National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
Time: 5-6:30pm
Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel2500 Calvert St NW, Washington, DC 20008 (map), Diplomat Ballroom
Our 50th Anniversary celebrations will begin with the first in our Leaders Speak series: Defense Secretaries Harold Brown, William Perry, William S. Cohen, and Chuck Hagel, in conversation with National Committee President Steve Orlins, will reflect on their experiences and lessons learned, as well as their suggestions for the future of the U.S.-China security relationship.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Subcommittee Hearing: The U.S. Response To North Korea’s Nuclear Provocations –U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Time: 9am-noon
Location: Rayburn House Office Building45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC (map)
Speakers: Victor Cha- Ph.D., Mr. Bruce Klingner

Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Blood Oil: Tyrants, Violence And The Rules That Run The World –Center for Global Development
Time: noon-1:30pm
Location: Center for Global Development2055 L Street NW (map)
Featuring the author Leif Wenar, Chair of Philosophy and Law, King’s College London; with comments by Ian Vásquez, Director, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute; and Bruce W. Jentleson, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Duke University and Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations, Kluge Center, Library of Congress; moderated by Christopher A. Preble, Vice President, Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute. The benefits from international trade have been huge. However, because of a deep flaw in global markets for natural resources like oil, consumers are forced to enrich repressive governments and armed groups overseas when paying at the pump, in stores, and online. In his book, Blood Oil, Leif Wenar shows how an antiquated, anti-market rule at the foundations of global trade can be replaced by a rule of law that will get consumers out of business with autocrats, militias, and extremists abroad. Princeton’s Angus Deaton, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economics, calls Blood Oil “the indispensable guide, combining politics, economics, and ethics to tell us just how and why we are all involved, and what we ought to do to make the world a better place.” Harvard’s Steven Pinker praised it as “a fantastically stimulating read: analytic, informative, rationally optimistic, and written with erudition and panache.” Wenar, a professor at the King’s College London School of Law, has written a timely and provocative book. Please join us for a full discussion of his findings, and their policy implications.

Thursday, January 14, 2016
Offshore Balancing: Realism Or Reality Check For Foreign Policy – Heritage Foundation
Time: noon-1pm
Location: Heritage Foundation214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 (map)
Some have suggested that the United States ought to take a diminished role in international affairs. Specifically, they recommend that the U.S. should use offshore balancing and support a balance of power between competing countries in a region rather than directly applying American presence and influence. In theory, this would allow the U.S. to avoid the costs of large military deployments around the world. However, is delegation or disengagement a viable long-term strategy? Would offshore balancing be appropriate in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa?

Friday, January 15, 2016
East-West Arctic Cooperation During Times Of Global Tension- The Stimson Center
Time: 10-11:30am
Location: Stimson Center1211 Connecticut Ave NW, 8th Floor (map)
Can the United States and its allies cooperate with Russia, China and other Asian nations during times of tense relations — or will cooperation on common interests in the Arctic succumb to the more familiar geopolitical tensions of the Cold War era? Please join us at Stimson where Vice Admiral Charles Michel, the Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, will deliver a keynote speech on the Arctic Coast Guard Forum, recently established to promote maritime safety and security cooperation in the Arctic. Following VAdm. Michel’s presentation, a panel of experts will discuss the progress in the next challenge facing cooperation in the Arctic region: the negotiation of a binding agreement on science cooperation in the Arctic.
What: Keynote by Vice Admiral Charles Michel on the newly established Arctic Coast Guard Forum followed by a panel discussion on the development of a Binding Agreement on Science Cooperation in the Arctic.
RSVP: Click here to RSVP

The Arab Spring Five Years Later: Toward Greater Inclusiveness– Brookings Institution
Time: 10:15-11:45am
Location: Brookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 (map)
Five years have passed since the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia sparked revolts around the Arab world and the beginning of the Arab Spring. Despite high hopes that the Arab world was entering a new era of freedom, economic growth, and social justice, the transition turned out to be long and difficult, with the Arab world now in turmoil with revolutions, counter revolutions, wars, civil strife, and the worst refugee crisis of our times. The response to the Arab Spring and its aftermath has focused almost exclusively on political and security issues, and on the very divisive questions of national identity and political regimes. Economic and social questions have been put on the back burner. On January 15, Global Economy and Development at Brookings will host a discussion on a new book, ‘The Arab Spring Five Years Later,’ which explores the critical economic and social issues driving the Arab Spring agenda and the real economic grievances that must be addressed in order to achieve peace, stability, and successful political transitions as well as provides an approach to addressing those grievances.Hafez Ghanem and Shinchi Yamanaka will present the key findings of the book, followed by a panel discussion. Afterward, questions will be taken from the audience.