The Post-Election Message to the World: What’s the New Agenda?

A discussion with:

Ambassador Nicholas Burns: Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and International Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He served in the United States Foreign Service for twenty seven years until his retirement in April 2008. He was Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2005-2008, the nation’s highest ranking career diplomat. He led negotiations on Iran, India, Kosovo and many other issues and oversaw U.S. diplomatic efforts in each region of the world. He served as US Ambassador to NATO and Greece, among many other prestigious posts.

Dr. Maleeha Lodhi: Fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Goverment, is among the most accomplished female professionals in the Muslim world, with extensive experience in diplomacy, the media and academia. Her diplomatic experience spans eleven years, representing Pakistan as Ambassador in the US and Britain. She is the recipient of the President’s award of Hilal-e-Imtiaz for Public Service in Pakistan. Dr. Lodhi has been the editor of Pakistan’s leading English daily, The News, and is among the country’s top political commentators. She has taught courses in politics at the London School of Economics.

The discussions in the Anticipating Change: Resolving Conflict in the New Era series focus on exploring the relationship among government, news media, and the conflict resolution community in framing and responding to conflict. Topics examine how conflict is framed and how that influences the escalation and de-escalation of conflict and the public understanding of various responses to terrorism. In general, participants will consider ways to strengthen the capacity to prevent, resolve, and transform ethnonational conflicts.

This Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution series is sponsored by the Program on Negotiation, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, and the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, as well as Boston area members of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.