Tuesday, December 1, 2009
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Ambassadors Forum: A Conversation with Ambassador José Goñi

Ambassador José Mario Goñi Carrasco, Ambassador of Chile to the United States

Please send RSVP to: lasp@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Ambassadors Forum and the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Elliott School Book Party

Please join us for a wine and cheese reception in honor of our faculty members who have published books this year.

Come meet the authors and congratulate them on their recent accomplishments.

Participating authors' books will be available for sale and signing at this event.

Participating authors include:

Hossein Askari - Globalization and Islamic Finance: Convergence, Prospects, and Challenges and Militarization and Economic Development: A Case Study of the Persian Gulf Region
Jennifer Brinkerhoff - Digital Diasporas: Identity and Transnational Engagement
Michael E. Brown - Primacy and Its Discontents: American Power and International Stability
Alexander Sebastian Dent - River of Tears: Country Music, Memory, and Modernity in Brazil
Lee Ann Fujii - Killing Neighbors: Webs of Violence in Rwanda
Henry E. Hale - Developments in Russian Politics 7
Stuart E. Johnson - Underkill: Scalable Capabilities for Military Operations amid Populations
Young-Key Kim-Renaud - Korean: An Essential Grammar
Erwan Lagadec - Leadership in Unconventional Crisis: A Transatlantic, Cross-Sector Assessment
Jerrold Post - The World's Most Threatening Terrorist Networks and Criminal Gangs
Peter Rollberg - Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema
Sharon L. Wolchik - Women in Power in Post-Communist Parliaments
Catherine Woytowicz - Introduction to Criminalistics: The Foundation of Forensic Science

All of our faculty members' publications can be found on the research section of our website.

Please send RSVP to: rsvpesia@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs

Tuesday, December 1, 2009
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213
1957 E Street, NW

A Conversation with Awista Ayub

Awista Ayub, author of However Tall the Mountain

After years of exile in the U.S., Awista returned home to Afghanistan to found the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange, nurturing a generation of Afghan girls through soccer. Come listen to Awista discuss her new book and speak to the remarkable challenges and opportunities facing the girls of Afghanistan.

Discussion: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Reception: 7:30 - 8:00 pm

For more information on Awista and her book visit www.awistaayub.com.

Please send RSVP to: gwsocialenterprise@gmail.com

Sponsored by the Institute for Global and International Studies, the GW Social Enterprise Forum, the Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Sorority and Fraternity, and the Graduate Program in International Affairs

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Webster and Buchanan Rooms
U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.

Alumni Event: Elliott School Alumni at the U.S. Department of State

Michael E. Brown, Dean, The Elliott School of International Affairs, GW

Dean Brown and the GW Alumni Association cordially invite you to an alumni luncheon at the U.S. Department of State. Take this opportunity to meet Dean Brown, your colleagues, and fellow Elliott School alumni.

Access to the Harry S. Truman building is restricted; This event is open only to alumni with a valid U.S. Department of State building pass.

For more information and to register: www.alumniconnections.com

Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs and the GW Alumni Association

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
12:15 PM - 4:30 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Conference on Taiwan, Asia and the Global Economic Crisis

12:15 - 1:30 PM: Lunch
Please note: lunch will take place in the City View Room, 7th Floor

1:30 - 3:00 PM: Panel I: The Economic Crisis and Taiwan's Political Strategies in Asia and Beyond

M. Terry Cooke, Founder, GC3 Strategy; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute

Kerry Dumbaugh, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service

Vincent Wei-cheng Wang, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond

3:00 - 4:30 PM: Panel II: The Financial Crisis and Taiwan-China Economic Relations

Peter Chow, Professor of Economics, City College and Graduate Center, City University of New York

Scott Kastner, Associate Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland

Jiawen Yang, Professor of International Business and International Affairs, GW

Please send RSVP to: gsigur@gwu.edu with your name, organization/GW affiliation, and e-mail by Monday, Novermber 30. You must also include which sessions (Lunch, Panel I, and/or Panel II) you plan to attend.

Sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies

Thursday, December 3, 2009
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

We Are All Moors: Ending Centuries of Crusades against Muslims and Other Minorities

Anouar Majid, author of We Are All Moors; Director, Center for Global Humanities, University of New England

Introduction by:
Ambassador Aziz Mekouar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States

Majid will be discussing his newest book, We Are All Moors: Ending Centuries of Crusades against Muslims and other Minorities. In We Are All Moors, Anouar Majid contends that the acrimonious debates about immigration and Islam in the West are the cultural legacy of the conflict between Christians and Moors. Offering a groundbreaking new history of the West's perception and treatment of minority cultures, Majid explores how "the Moor" emerged as the archetypal Other against which Europe would define itself.

A reception hosted by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco will follow the book discussion.

Please send RSVP to: rsvpimes@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Institute for Middle East Studies and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco

Thursday, December 3, 2009
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Alumni House
1918 F Street, NW

Alumni Event: 3rd Annual Alumni House Holiday Open House

Kick-off the holidays with GW alumni! Join fellow alumni for an evening of music, drinks, food and fun at an open house at Alumni House!

For more information and to register, visit: www.alumniconnections.com

Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs and the GW Alumni Association

Friday, December 4, 2009
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Room 505
1957 E Street, NW

2009 Elliott School Youth Democracy Forum

Adam Michnik, Editor-in-Chief, Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's largest daily newspaper; formerly one of East Central Europe's most prominent leaders in the struggle against communist rule

Hosted by:
Henry E. Hale, Director, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, GW

Dr. Eliot Sorel, Clinical Professor of Global Health, Health Services Management and Leadership, School of Public Health and Health Services; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine and Health, GW

This autumn, as we celebrate twenty years of democracy in Central and Southeast Europe, 1989-2009, we are proud to host the 2009 Elliott School Youth Democracy Forum. This year's honored guest will be Adam Michnik.

The Youth Democracy Forum provides an opportunity for Washington-area students with strong interests in promoting democracy and their faculty to engage one of democracy's most brilliant practitioners in a frank, small-group discussion of the past and future of democracy worldwide.

Participation in this event is by invitation only.
However, this event will be captured on video and made available through the Elliott School website.

Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; the School of Medicine; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the Ratiu Family Charitable Foundation (London); and the Ratiu Center for Democracy (Turda, Romania)

Monday, December 7, 2009
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Working in Conflict Contexts

Welcome and brief introduction:
Jennifer Brinkerhoff, Co-Director, GW Diaspora Program; Professor of Public Administration, International Business and International Affairs, GW

Panelists:
Jane Williams-Grube, Senior Analyst, Conflict and Governance, International Development Group, RTI International

Dayna Brown, Director, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects

Moderated by:
Rick Hill, Senior Director for Transitional States, RTI International

Please join us for a distinguished panel of practitioners who will share their experiences and advice for working in international development in conflict contexts.

Many of our students and alumni are offered jobs in posts where conflict and security may be an issue, as increasingly this is where many jobs are available. We also have graduate student teams who go to the field for their capstone projects and may be asked to travel to these contexts. Come and learn with us what you should consider, what you might expect and how best to prepare.

No RSVP required.

Sponsored by the GW Diaspora Program and RTI International.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Kendrick Conference Room, Suite 321
2115 G Street, NW

A Centered Index of Spatial Concentration: Expected Influence Approach and Application to Population and Capital Cities

Filipe Campante, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University

Please send RSVP to: iiep@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy

Tuesday, December 8, 2009
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Film: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Join us for the best movie ever made about a nuclear apocalypse. Relax from your papers for a bit, and find out why there is no fighting in the war room.

No RSVP required.

Sponsored by the Security Policy Studies program and the Conflict Resolution Forum

Thursday, December 10, 2009
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Kendrick Conference Room, Suite 321
2115 G Street, NW

The Performance of Index-based Livestock Insurance: Ex Ante Assessment in the Presence of a Poverty Trap

Chris Barrett, Stephen B. & Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management; International Professor of Agriculture, Cornell University

Please send RSVP to: iiep@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy

Thursday, December 10, 2009
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Global Fissile Material Report 2009: Challenges and Recommendations for Securing and Eliminating Nuclear Weapons Materials

James Acton, Associate, Carnegie Endowment for Peace

Zia Mian, Director, Peace and Security in South Asia Project, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University

Frank von Hippel, Director, Center for Science and Global Security, Princeton University

Moderated by:
Leonor Tomero, Director, Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

In support of practical and achievable policy initiatives for nuclear disarmament and reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism, the International Panel on Fissile Materials' Global Fissile Material Report 2009 surveys the challenges related to detecting and eliminating the hundreds of tons of bomb-grade material that is stored and produced globally. It charts some of the key technical and policy steps toward accounting for and eliminating the world's huge stockpiles of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium -- the key materials for making nuclear weapons.

Copies of the new report will be available at the briefing.

Refreshments will be served.

Please send RSVP to: Andrew Riedy at ariedy@armscontrolcenter.org or (202) 546-0795 ext 2117.

Sponsored by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and the Elliott School of International Affairs

Thursday, December 10, 2009
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213
1957 E Street, NW

Diplomat in Residence: Life as a Foreign Service Officer

Staci Brothers Ali-Ibrahim, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State

Ms. Brothers Ali-Ibrahim is a management-coned Foreign Service Officer. She has served in Madrid, Kabul, Cairo, Amman, and Washington, DC. She will be discussing life in the Foreign Service, as well as her posts in the Middle East.

A reception will follow the event.

No RSVP required. For questions, contact: iakarmanova@gmail.com

Sponsored by the Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Sorority

Thursday, December 10, 2009
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Re-Thinking U.S. Democracy Assistance

Sean Roberts, Director, International Development Studies program, GW

Please join the Organization for International Development for a holiday reception. It will be a great chance to enjoy good food and drinks while catching up with colleagues and fellow classmates. Sean Roberts, Director of the International Development Studies program, will be giving a presentation titled "Re-Thinking U.S. Democracy Assistance."

Please send RSVP to: oid@gwu.edu by Tuesday, December 8

Sponsored by the Organization for International Development

Friday, December 11, 2009
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412
1957 E Street, NW

Currency, Identity, and Nation-Building: National Currency Choices in the Post-Soviet States

Scott Cooper, Associate Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University; Visiting Scholar, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, GW

Mr. Cooper will discuss how currencies reflect and/or promote national identity, reporting findings from an examination of images on the national currencies issued by all fifteen Soviet successor states. Their choices are interesting because these states faced the problem of creating, or at least reinforcing, new national identities to replace decades of Soviet identity-building.

Please send RSVP to: ieresgwu@gwu.edu

Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies

Thursday, December 17, 2009
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

The U.S. Nuclear Deterrent: Are Smaller Weapons Better?

Presenting the findings of their recent article in Foreign Affairs, "The Nukes We Need: Preserving the American Deterrent":
Keir A. Lieber, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame

Daryl G. Press, Associate Professor of Government, Dartmouth University

with commentary by:
Michael Krepon, Co-founder, Henry L. Stimson Center

Ivan Oelrich, Acting President, Federation of American Scientists

A summary of "The Nukes We Need" may be found at: www.foreignaffairs.com

A buffet lunch will be served.

Please send RSVP to: monterey.cns.rsvp@gmail.com

Sponsored by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies