Erik R. Scott, Title VIII-Supported Research Scholar, Kennan Institute

Cosponsored by the Russian-American Community Center of Florida, Open Dialogue (Moscow) and the Spiritual Diplomacy Foundation, in this discussion Nikolai Borodin, Director, Museum of the Allies and Lend-Lease in Moscow, will explore the history of the museum and the role of America in the Lend-Lease program during World War II.

Authors and scholars Alexander Cooley and Alexander Kupatadze discuss their research into the interplay of geopolitics and local networks across Central Asia. Cooley explores the dynamics of the new competition between Russia, China and the United States over the region since 9/11, as well as how small states’ interaction with great powers advances our understanding of how world politics actually works in the contemporary era of diminishing Western influence and rising new regional powers. Author Alexander Kupatadze will discuss the diverging trajectories of organized crime in post-Soviet Eurasia focusing on professional criminals (so-called vory-v-zakone) in Georgia and drug smuggling groups in Kyrgyzstan.

Many have commented on how much Congress has changed over the last 40 years for a variety of reasons, most noticeably from the increasing importance of political parties in the legislative process and their increased polarization from each other. In this roundtable discussion, former Members, congressional staff and area political scientists will discuss the ultimate question of whether there is any way to restore a greater measure of deliberation and bipartisan national problem-solving.