The National Conversation at The Wilson Center
The National Conversation is a joint production of The Wilson Center and NPR. Together, we will provide a forum for deep dialogue and informed discussion. Non-partisan and civil, The National Conversation provides the level of discourse the nation deserves through a thoughtful and challenging exploration of the most significant problems facing the nation and the world.
Past Events
U.S. Special Operations 2020
May 2, 2013 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
Admiral William McRaven, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command will laid out his vision for Special Operations Forces and the Command. A panel of experts, including Admiral McRaven, discussed the vision from a number of different perspectives.
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Drug Policy: A 21st Century Approach to Reform
April 25, 2013 // 12:00pm — 1:30pm
The illegal drug problem has posed challenges to the United States and Latin America for many decades. While efforts to disrupt the cultivation, processing, and trafficking of drugs to the United States have shown mixed results, the drug trade continues to pose serious threats to citizen security, economic prosperity, environmental conservation, human rights, and democratic governance throughout the hemisphere.
How is the U.S. reforming its policies to address this problem and show sustainable results?
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The Rise & Fall of Iran in Arab and Muslim Eyes - A New Poll
March 5, 2013 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
Zogby Research Services released their latest poll of views on Iran and its policies from 20 Arab and Muslim nations – including the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula States, the Maghreb, Egypt and Sudan – and non-Arab Muslim neighbors of Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
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Allies at Odds: Obama, Netanyahu, and The State of US – Israeli Relations
January 30, 2013 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
Four years in, the relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu remains a troubled one. What’s behind the tension, can it be alleviated and how will regional challenges such as Iran’s nuclear program or the impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affect US-Israeli relations?
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LIVE: NPR's Talk of the Nation Broadcasting from the Wilson Center
November 29, 2012 // 2:00pm — 4:00pm
| Distinguished experts will be interviewed on: |
| OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY: OPPORTUNITY AND RISK Earlier this year, President Obama was caught on camera telling then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that a second term would give him more flexibility to negotiate on missile defense. If true, where else does this flexibility reach, how would he use it and where should he start? |
| David Ignatius Associate Editor and columnist, The Washington Post |
| Robert Kagan Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution |
| AVOIDING ANOTHER COLD WAR: LESSONS FROM THE LAST ONE & HOW TO PREVENT ANOTHER For decades, the US and USSR were locked in a checkmate that defined every aspect of global relations and brought us to the brink of nuclear war. Now, we confront a new multipolar landscape in which China will become a superpower; India, Pakistan, and North Korea have nuclear weapons; and Iran presents the gravest strategic challenge. What has the Cold War taught us that applies to the new challenges in a multipolar war? |
| Graham Allison Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University |
| Cheng Li Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution |
| Ashley Tellis Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace |
| WHEN WOMEN LEAD The goal of the Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project is to see fifty percent of the world’s public service jobs filled by women by 2050. Wilson Center President Jane Harman describes her vision of a world where there are as many women leaders as men. |
| Jane Harman Director, President and CEO, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |
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Is the World More Dangerous 50 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
October 15, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
October marks the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world came closest to nuclear war. This NPR/Wilson Center National Conversation examined the Crisis and found leadership lessons for handling the looming nuclear crises of today.
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China’s New Leadership—Opportunity for the United States?
October 3, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
The upcoming 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will usher in a new generation of leaders to oversee the world’s second largest economy for the next decade. How will the incoming fifth generation of Chinese leaders affect party policy? As the U.S.-China relationship continues to grow, in size and complexity, what are the implications of this once-in-a-decade leadership transition, especially for bilateral interaction? Dr. Henry A. Kissinger was joined by former Ambassador to China J. Stapleton Roy, former Fellow Dr. Cheng Li, and China scholar Dr. David M. Lampton to discuss the possible implications for U.S.-China relations of this once-in-a-decade power transition.
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Cyber Gridlock: Why the Public Should Care
October 1, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
As Washington fiddles, the vulnerability of U.S. infrastructure, private and public devices and networks grows. The U.S. has no clear, coordinated and effective policy to mitigate the complex threat. The public has no idea how vulnerable they are, and are left out of the debate.
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America’s Role in the World Post 9/11: A New Survey of Public Opinion
September 10, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
The latest biennial survey of public opinion by the Chicago Council of Global Affairs revealed that Americans have become increasingly selective about how and where to engage in the world. “Ten years after 9/11, Americans are recalibrating their views on American engagement abroad and searching for equally effective but less costly ways to project positive U.S. influence and to protect American interests around the world,” said Council President Marshall Bouton in this panel discussion.
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Should the US Change, Contain, or Engage Nuclear “Outliers” — Iran and North Korea?
June 20, 2012 // 12:00pm — 1:15pm
In the Bush era Iran and North Korea were branded “rogue” states for their flouting of international norms, and changing their regimes was the administration’s goal. The Obama administration has chosen instead to call the countries nuclear “outliers” and has proposed means other than regime change to bring them back into “the community of nations.” What do the precedents set in Iraq and Libya teach us about how current outliers can be integrated into the international community? And perhaps most important, how should the United States respond if outlier regimes eschew integration as a threat to their survival and continue to augment their nuclear capabilities? Join us at the Wilson Center for The National Conversation on U.S. policy towards nuclear outliers Iran and North Korea.
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Russian Presidential Elections and US-Russian Relations
May 23, 2012
On May 7, Vladimir Putin began his third term as president of the Russian Federation. With the Russian political season over, and the American political season heating up, what are the implications of political transition for the important issues in the U.S.-Russian bilateral relationship?
| Intro: |
Jane Harman |
| Keynote: |
Zbigniew Brzezinski |
| Panelists: |
Blair Ruble |
| Moderator: |
Susan Glasser |
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The Islamists Are Coming
April 18, 2012
Robin Wright and a panel of experts discussed her latest book, which takes a serious look—country-by-country—at the history, culture, current status, and future prospects of 50 Islamist parties in a dozen countries—the most critical players in the Mideast’s future. The book launch coincides with the release of a special new website focused on the book.
Visit the website: www.TheIslamistsAreComing.com
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Jane Harman |
Regaining America’s Competitive Edge
March 28, 2012
Once the world’s uncontested manufacturing and high-tech powerhouse, the United States must today contend with stiff international competition for markets, innovation, and talent. To regain its edge, America needs serious-minded and long-range reforms in K-12 education, the tax code, and immigration policies, an expert panel declared at this National Conversation.
Jane Harman
Wilson Center Director, President, and CEO
John Engler
former Governor of Michigan, former President, National Association of Manufacturers, and current President, Business Roundtable
Norm Augustine
former CEO, Lockheed-Martin; Chair National Academies Gathering Storm Committee; and author of Rising Above the Gathering Storm
Deborah L. Wince-Smith
President, Council on Competitiveness
Paul Vallas
Distinguished Scholar, education reformer and former Superintendent, Recovery School District of Louisiana
Jan Rivkin
Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration, Unit Head, Harvard Business School
David Wessel
Public Policy Scholar, Chief Economic Correspondent, Wall Street Journal
Read more or Watch the Event Video →
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Still a Nation of Immigrants?
How Immigration is Shaping America in the 21st Century
February 6, 2012
Boosting GDP and keeping Social Security solvent depend on the economic activity of migrants—as workers, consumers, and taxpayers. The United States should do more to regularize both high-tech professionals and other workers, panelists said at a National Conversation hosted by the University of Miami.
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Jane Harman Wilson Center Director, President, and CEO Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty former Special Envoy to the Americas Carlos Gutierrez former Secretary of Commerce, and Vice Chair, ICG, Citigroup Michael Chertoff former Secretary of Homeland Security Antonia Hernández President and CEO, California Community Foundation Andrés Oppenheimer Columnist, Miami Herald |
Afghanistan:
Is There a Regional End game?
November 1, 2011
Dr. Henry Kissinger acknowledged, “Extrication from a war like this is extremely difficult,” and advised, “The fundamental principles should be the same regardless of which party, namely to create a framework that can be sustained by some group that has an interest in preserving it....if you don’t create that framework,...the same frame work will be distilled, except at a higher cost. This seems to be a lesson humanity is incapable of learning.” The discussion which followed included:
Frank Ruggiero
Deputy Special Representative, Department of State
Vali Nasr
Professor of International Politics, Tufts University
Rajiv Chandrasekaran
National Editor, Washington Post and Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar contributed additional remarks which were followed by debate moderated by
Robin Wright
USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar, Journalist and Author of seven books, most recently Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World
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9/11
The Next Ten Years
September 12, 2011
To mark the tenth anniversary of September 11, the National Conversation looked at the national security landscape in the next ten years, and how US military and intelligence strategies should evolve to deal with it. The discussion, moderated by David Ignatius of The Washington Post and featured:
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
Chair, House Select Committee on Intelligence
Gen. Stanley McChrystal
former Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
Michael Leiter
former Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Bruce Hoffman
Director, Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown University
Jim Zogby
Founder and President, Arab American Institute
Read more or Watch the Event Video →
US National Debt
Wilson Center Launches Budget Hero 2.0
July 13, 2011
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The second Conversation on Capitol Hill involved lawmakers from both parties. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, and Senator Mark Udall Visit the website: www.BudgetHero.org |
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US National Security
April 8, 2011
The inaugural National Conversation—A National Security Narrative—was moderated by
Thomas Friedman and featured:
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim American to be elected to the US Congress
Brent Scowcroft
US National Security Adviser to President Ford and President George H. W. Bush
Anne-Marie Slaughter
former Director for Policy Planning for the US Department of State and Professor, Princeton University
Steve Clemons
founder of the American Strategy Program, New America Foundation; and
Robert Kagan
Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution
Read more or Watch the Event Video →
All events will be 
