Provocate.org

The first female Secretary of State and at that time, the highest ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. As Secretary of State, Albright reinforced America’s alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade and business, labor, and environmental standards abroad. Albright is the chairperson for The Women, Faith and Development Alliance, which aims to end global poverty among women. Albright is also the first Michael and Virginia Mortara Endowed Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. (more…)

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Former U.S. Congressman, co-chair of the 9/11 Commission and Iraq Study Group, and member of the War Powers Commission…. Lee Hamilton = The Statesman’s Statesman (more…)

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Four perspectives on American global power: (1) America is rapidly declining to irrelevancy (thank goodness); (2) America is facing the rise of new wannabe empires, so has to accommodate them in cooperative institutions; (3) reports of America’s decline have been rmapant since before the US rose, and are still premature (thank goodness); (4) like it or not, for good or for ill the US will be Top Dog for a long time, but that shouldn’t distract us from figuring out how we here can help solve global problems. Guess which is Provocate’s preferred position? (more…)

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Johann Galtung is coming to Indy. The most influential living social scientist, he is the founder of the academic study of peace and conflict studies, a discipline now offered as a major or a minor on virtually every college in America and Europe. He’s the author of more than a hundred books and more than a thousand articles. He is reported to have served as a mediator in more than 40 internaitonal conflicts. Think of one degree of seperation: if an academic uses the word “peace,” either she has read Galtung or she studied withsomeone who read Galtung. But is it all just a “peace racket”? (more…)

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Has it been more than 40 years since Dr. Strangelove redefined the Cold War? Why hasn’t the collapse of the USSR made the movie any less unsettling? (more…)

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There could be no headache awaiting the next president that’s bigger than North Korea, with its nukes and crisis-ridden economy. That’s why James Schoff has to worry that “the six party talks” doesn’t sound like much of a party at all. (more…)

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A paid American informant fingers an innocent Afghan taxi driver for a rocket attack. It’s later revealed the informant himself was actually the terrorist. The cabbie dies after five days of torture. That’s the entry point of Alex Gibney’s Oscar-winning documentary about American torture activities, illustrated with previously-unseen images, and including interviews with some of the torturers themselves, and disenchanted administration officials. Easy viewing? Probably not, but essential nonetheless … and even more essential to have an open discussion of the film’s issues. (more…)

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Sometimes it seems that Barack Obama’s main constructive foreign policy message is: “I like Dick Lugar.” Come to Marian college to find out why this is not a bad argument when Senator Lugar delivers his first public speech to the renamed Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies. (more…)

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Stephen Flynn ranks among the world’s most widely cited experts on homeland; maritime and port; and trade and transportation security issues. Since 9/11 he has provided testimony on 17 occasions on Capitol Hill and has testified before the Canadian House of commons and the Canadian Senate. Now he comes far from port, to the Woodstock Club. (more…)

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Some very bright analysts of international relations are teaching in the smaller colleges and universities of Indiana, refining their insights far from the distractions of DC (or even of Bloomington and Lafayette). Hear what they have to say at the Indiana Consortium for International Programs (ICIP) conference. (more…)

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