Category Archives: Global Matters

The Current Economic and Political Challenges of the European Union

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Please join us for an FPLC special event with Mr. Marius Hirte, the Director of Competitiveness for the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) at the European Union.

Thursday, March 4, 2021
@ 6PM EST US

Marius HirteMr. Hirte will be joining us from his office in Belgium for sharing with our members a dynamic and timely presentation on the “The Current Economic and Political Challenges of the European Union”, a very important topic part of today’s global socio-economic and political context, especially following the many changes the past year of 2020 brought to the world landscape and to the European Union in particular.

Mr. Hirte holds an Advanced Degree in Political Studies from “Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)“ in Belgium and from “Université de Nancy” in France with a specialization in European Studies. He also holds a Master of Science Degree in International Relations from the University of Bucharest, Romania.

Prior to his current tenure leading the Office of Competitiveness, Mr. Hirte managed GSC’s Office for Environment, Education, Youth, Culture, Audio-Visuals and Sports (EYCS), as well as GSC’s Office of the Environment. He is the former Deputy Permanent Representative of Romania to the European Union and the former Deputy Head of the Permanent Mission of Romania to the European Union in Brussels.

The event will be will be presented as a LIVE WEBINAR, moderated by the FPLC Board President, Dr. James Buchanan and by FPLC Secretary, Mr. Joe Dehner, Esq.

Event Sponsored by:

A New Path Forward for U.S. Global Leadership in the 21st Century

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Message to America: A United States Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) Town Hall with Secretary Robert M. Gates

Wednesday, July 15
4:00 – 5:00 p.m. EDT

Robert M. Gates

As Secretary Bob Gates launches his new book – Exercise of Power – we invite you to join a conversation with the USGLC community and the former Secretary of Defense.

  • The interactive online town hall will dive in the Secretary’s new book and his views on how to lead America forward, including the importance of our civilian tools of global engagement.
  • RSVP is required for the Zoom event link and there will be time for audience Q&A with the Secretary, a member of USGLC’s National Advisory Council.
  • Signed and discounted copies of the book will be available for purchase for registered participants prior to the event.

Event sponsored by:

USGLC

Climate Change in the Post-Pandemic World

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Theresa Sabonis-HelfGrab your favorite beverage and join us for a live Happy Hour Webinar to discuss the impact that COVID-19 has had on global oil trade and climate change!  The environment has been a (short term) beneficiary of COVID-19. From altering supply chains, to collapsing oil prices, to mixing virtual and physical presence in the workplace, this discussion will examine the potential environmental impacts of how Americans are rethinking trade, work, and travel in the post-pandemic world.

Dr. Theresa Sabonis-Helf is the Inaugural Chair of the Science, Technology and International Affairs concentration in the Master’s Degree program at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Prior to joining Georgetown, she was a Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College in Washington DC.  She has lived and worked in seven countries of the Former USSR, has assisted two nations with the development of their first National Security Strategies, and has co-edited two volumes on Central Asia’s political and economic transition.  She has also published and lectured extensively on energy security, climate change policies, post-Soviet energy and environmental issues, regional water politics, regional trade and transit, and the politics of electricity.  She is a frequent advisor to the US Department of State and USAID and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

This FREE Live Webinar Event will be taking place on
Thu, July 9, 2020 from 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EDT

Clash of Globalizations

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The USA and China:
Much more than a Trade War
An Evening with Dr. James P. Buchanan

Thursday, November 14, 2019

5:30 p.m. Reception/6:15 p.m. Dinner/7:00 p.m. Presentation
Schiff Family Conference Center at Xavier University

There is a great deal of discussion about the trade war with China. President Trump has imposed an increasing series of tariffs on China in order to get what he believes to be a better trading agreement with China. China has retaliated with their own tariffs. That this is having negative impacts in both the US and China is undeniable. The outcome is to be determined. But the current trade war is just a small part of a much larger conflict between the West and China – a clash of models of globalization. The Washington Consensus, also known as the Bretton-Woods System has been the dominant mode of globalization since the 1950’s and has gone through its own evolution culminating with the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1992.

While China is a member of the WTO, at the same time it has developed and pursued its own competing model of globalization, which not only competes with the Bretton-Woods model but is often in violation of the rules governing its membership in the WTO. The best example of the Chinese model of globalization is The Belt and Road Initiative – a long-term plan for regional interconnectivity and dominance in Asia to which China has committed some $8 trillion dollars. Both the WTO and The Belt and Road are facing significant challenges. This session will lay out in broad terms the two Globalizations allowing us to discuss this clash of globalizations and the implications for US foreign and trade policy.

Dr. James P. Buchanan was educated at Yale University and University of Chicago where he completed a PhD in comparative religions, philosophies and comparative value systems. He has also studied in France, Russia and China. In 2000 he became the first holder of the Besl Family Chair in Ethics/Religion and Society at Xavier University. From 2002 to the present he has been University Professor and Executive Director of The Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier.

Dr. Buchanan has delivered over 300 lectures and talks worldwide on issues ranging from interfaith relations; globalization; systems theory and global systems, and sustainability. He has published widely. His new book, Wagers Into the Abyss: Ethics in an Age of Global Systems will be published next year.

Event sponsored by:

Xavier University - Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue

World Affairs Council