Carnegie Connects

As the coronavirus' delta variant recedes and new U.S. COVID-19 cases decline by more than a third, it is possible to imagine—at least in the United States—a more normal future beyond the pandemic. Vaccine resistance and the politicization of public health remain serious problems, and failure to prioritize and accomplish rapid, global vaccination will ensure a resurgence of the pandemic. But vaccines offer the possibility of transitioning to a world where the virus is no longer a grave threat. What steps need to be taken at home and abroad to fully overcome the destructive impact of the pandemic globally? Join us for a special episode featuring Dr. Leana Wen in conversation with Aaron David Miller to discuss the state of the coronavirus in America and the world and what measures need to be taken to end a pandemic that has claimed more than 4.8 million lives, including over 700,000 in the United States, and infected at least 237 million worldwide. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran represents one of the greatest challenges in the Middle East and beyond for the Biden administration. As the United States approaches the prospect of a seventh round of negotiations in Vienna over the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), what are the chances for success? Is the agreement still viable? If not, is a broader framework realistic? And if negotiations don’t succeed, what are the options for the United States to manage Iran’s putative nuclear aspirations and its regional ambitions?Want to listen to Carnegie Connects live? Visit our website to sign up for invitations.

Professor, author, diplomat, and businesswoman, Madeleine K. Albright served as America’s sixty-fourth secretary of state from 1997–2001 and, at the time, was the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. Please join us as Aaron David Miller sits down with Secretary Albright for a conversation on America’s foreign policy, politics, and the current domestic and external challenges facing the United States. Want to listen to Carnegie Connects live? Visit our website to sign up for invitations.

James A. Baker, III, occupies a unique place in the history of American foreign policy and politics. He is the only person to serve as Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, and White House Chief of Staff (twice). He also led five presidential campaigns. Please join us as Aaron David Miller sits down with America’s 61st Secretary of State for a discussion of U.S. foreign policy, domestic politics, and the state of the world.Want to listen to Carnegie Connects live? Visit our website to sign up for invitations.

A pandemic by definition is a threat to global public health, and yet when it comes to production and distribution of vaccines, the world is reacting with national, not international, priorities in mind. Aside from the moral hazard of an approach based on every country for itself, there are compelling public health, economic, and political reasons for adopting a global view of the problem and solution. Join us as Peter J. Hotez, Kate O’Brien, and Muhammad Ali Pate sit down with Aaron David Miller to wrestle with the questions—how do we vaccinate the world and what are the risks and consequences if we don’t? Watch the full event.SPEAKERSPeter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, is a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology and the founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also the codirector of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development. He is the author of Blue Marble Health: An Innovative Plan to Fight Diseases of the Poor Amid Wealth and Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism: My Journey as a Vaccine Scientist, Pediatrician, and Autism Dad. Kate O'Brien is director of the Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals Department at the World Health Organization (WHO). In this role she is responsible for leading the WHO’s strategy and implementation to advance the vision of a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines for good health and wellbeing. Dr. O’Brien also serves as WHO’s technical lead of COVAX, the vaccine pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A). The mission of COVAX is to deliver 2 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2021 to help end the acute phase of the pandemic. Muhammad Ali Pate is the global director of the Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) Global Practice of the World Bank and the director of Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF), based in Washington, DC. Dr. Pate was until recently the chief executive officer of Big Win Philanthropy, based in the UK, and prior to that held several senior positions, including that of minister of state for health in Nigeria. Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.  

With the release of the incriminating U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Biden—in a sharp break with the Trump administration—has clearly outlined his intention to recalibrate the U.S.-Saudi relationship to ensure it advances U.S. interests and values. Are the administration’s initial steps sufficient to rebalance the relationship? Or does more need to be done? What impact has this shift had on Saudi internal politics, specifically on the standing of the crown prince? And even more fundamentally, with the fracturing of the decades-long oil-for-security trade-off, what are the U.S. interests in its relationship with the kingdom in 2021? Join us as Yasmine Farouk, Bernard Haykel, and Robin Wright sit down with Aaron David Miller to address these and other issues. Watch the full event.SPEAKERS Yasmine Farouk is a visiting fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Bernard Haykel is a scholar of the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on the history, politics, and economics of Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), and Yemen. He is a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. Robin Wright, a former Carnegie fellow, is a columnist for the New Yorker and a joint fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center. She has covered the Middle East for almost a half century. Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. 

The storming of the U.S. Capitol shocked those in the United States and around the world, but the ideological roots of the right-wing groups leading the attack that day reside deep in the nation’s soil. It comes as no surprise that law enforcement has identified domestic extremism as the gravest internal security threat to the United States, but who are these groups; what are their origins and objectives; and how much support do they have among the public, the military, and in law enforcement? And, more importantly, what can be done to combat them in the realm of social media where disinformation and conspiracy theories thrive?Join us as Marc Ginsberg, Rachel Kleinfeld, and Mary McCord sit down with Aaron David Miller to address these and other questions. Watch the full event.SPEAKERS Marc Ginsberg is the president of the Coalition for a Safer Web. Ginsberg is also the former U.S. ambassador to Morocco and White House Middle East adviser. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow in Carnegie's Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict countries, fragile states, and states in transition. Mary McCord is the executive director and legal director at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) and a visiting professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. She previously served as the acting assistant attorney general for national security at the U.S. Department of Justice and principal deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division. Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy.