The Institute of World Politics

About the Lecture: China’s espionage activities are changing the global balance of power, impacting the U.S. and foreign economies, and providing challenges to domestic, national security, and foreign policy formulation. China's "whole of society" intelligence approach provides a sophisticated and expanding global reach to target individuals for recruitment and collection. This briefing analyzes m...

About the Lecture: This discussion is based on a case study that examines two policy proposals, federalism or secession, as possible solutions for the Kurdish conflict in Iran. It is a study that meticulously analyzes the historical background of the Kurdish question, identifying the critical factors for the emergence of Kurdish nationalism in Iran and the environmental degradation and dynamics of...

About the Lecture: The American Constitution is the world’s oldest. It was designed by our Founders to withstand the storms of faction, geographic expansion, war – and even Civil War. The Founders studied history. They knew that democracies always fail. Plato writes in The Republic that “democracies always become tyrannies.” How is it that our 235-year-old Constitution still governs our land? In a...

About the Lecture: Conflict is no longer restricted to the domains of land, sea, and air. The Information Domain has emerged as a more than an equal warfighting domain for conflict from tension through armed conflict. The presentation will look at the information domain in military context in the Ukraine, Gaza, Bosnia, and Iraq. Attendees will get an inside look at how the military orchestrates no...

About the Speaker: COL (Ret) Mills has made immense contributions to America’s national security since the later stages of the Cold War. This service has been both in uniform and as a senior civilian for the Department of Defense. Colonel Mills has multiple combat tours, has helped train and equip six foreign partner military/security forces and has spent time on the National Security Council as t...

About the Lecture: A sequel to Michael Walsh’s Last Stands, his new book A Rage to Conquer is a journey through the twelve of the most important battles in Western history. As Walsh sees it, war is an important facet of every culture – and, for better or worse, our world is unthinkable without it. War has been an essential part of the human condition throughout history, the principal agent of soci...

About the Lecture: **This lecture is part of the Intermarium Lecture Series and the Kosciuszko Chair of Polish Studies at The Institute of World Politics** What is hybrid warfare? How does one identify and read unconventional attacks by autocratic regimes? Dr. Ivana Stradner will address these and related questions, providing insights into the various tools and techniques used by the Russian Feder...

About the Lecture It has been fifteen years since the Smolensk air disaster. On April 10, 2010, a Polish presidential plane crashed near the Smolensk military airport on Russian territory. The aircraft was carrying a delegation to Katyn to participate in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the 1940 Soviet massacre, and all 96 passengers and crew members were killed. Among the victims were...

Hear from IWP's expert panel on "Assessing U.S. Relations with Russia and Ukraine." As the war in Ukraine evolves and U.S. policies toward Russia shift, the world may be entering uncharted territory. Join IWP’s expert panel as they examine these developments, drawing on decades of experience shaping and implementing U.S. policy — from the Reagan Administration to today. **Learn more about IWP grad...

About the Lecture: This lecture is part of the Student Speaker Series Through engagements like the Digital Silk Road and various state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has succeeded in creating an immense global network for data collection and stores of the world’s data. This capability is unnerving, but a more serious threat emerges coupled with CCP’s intentions to domi...

To reverse the dangerous and destructive trend towards religion- and ethnic-based conflicts there needs to be a concerted effort to chart a different approach that is rooted in a shared understanding of a common providential purpose for all humanity and animated by a mutual determination on the part of people of faith and goodwill to collaborate in education and action aimed at building a world of...

About the Lecture This lecture is part of the Student Speaker Series The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, has one of the worst human rights records in the world, leading many of its citizens to escape through nearby Southeast Asian countries to seek asylum in South Korea or other willing nations. A significant issue these escapees face is having an ambiguous...

Join war correspondent Mitzi Perdue as she shares compelling insights from her four journeys to Ukraine, including on-the-ground reporting from bomb shelters in cities under siege. Explore innovative police initiatives to combat human trafficking and counter Russian propaganda, as well as the pioneering efforts of Mental Help Global, an initiative inspired by her harrowing encounter with a 14-year...

About the Book ***This lecture is sponsored by the IWP IAFIE Alpha Student Chapter*** Since its founding in 1995, the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service, has regained most the domestic security functions of the Soviet-era KGB. Under Vladimir Putin, who served as FSB director just before becoming president, the agency has grown to be one of the most powerful and favored organizations in Russia....

About the Lecture The Svalbard Archipelago is a remote collection of Norwegian islands in the Arctic, un-militarized and seemingly unimportant. However, their geographic proximity to Russian military assets in the Arctic make them a potentially valuable strategic asset for NATO, and a source of concern for the Russians, who have engaged in gray zone activities there since the Cold War. In recognit...

About the Speakers: Congressman John Moolenaar represents Michigan's Second Congressional District, and currently serves as Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Please visit the committee’s official website for Chairman Moolenaar’s full biography. Dr. John Lenczowski is Founder, President Emeritus, and Chance...

About the Lecture: Pig Butchering, a slang Chinese term for the process of “fattening the pig before the slaughter”, has become synonymous with crypto investment scams. Investment scams have become the most costly cyber-enabled crime reported to the FBI, with reported losses exceeding $4.5B. Across the globe, some studies estimate losses over $63B. In this discussion, we will differentiate between...

About the Lecture: The delicate balance between deterrence and reassurance in managing tensions in the Taiwan Strait calls for balanced action and management of measured risks. The talk will examine how strategic diplomacy, military readiness, and multilateral engagement can prevent conflict, while fostering stability and mutual trust and emphasizes the need for a nuanced approach that strengthens...

About the Lecture: Since the time of Chairman Mao, the Chinese Communist Party has recognized Africa’s importance. Especially under President Xi Jinping, the continent has become crucial to some of the CCP’s most cherished ambitions. In his presentation, Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Joshua Meservey will explain how Africa fits into the CCP’s strategy to reorder the international system, gain for...

About the Lecture: Luke M. Perez will give a Constitution Day lecture on the topic of Constitutional Thinking in the Early Cold War About the Speaker: Luke M. Perez is an Assistant Professor in the School of Civic and Economic Thought at Arizona State University. His scholarship examines religion, ethics, and US national security. He was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Kinder Institute on...

About the Lecture: James Lawler’s talk, titled “Soulcatcher,” delves into the complex and often disturbing motivations that drive ordinary people to commit espionage. Drawing from his extensive 25-year career as a senior CIA case officer, during which he earned prestigious honors such as the Donovan Award, the CIA Director’s Award, the HUMINT Collector of the Year Award, and the Trailblazer Award,...

About the Lecture: 800 years have passed since the death of Master Wincenty (ca. 1150–1223), called Kadłubek, the first Polish jurist known to us. In his outstanding literary work, the Chronicle of the Poles he told us about Poland forever. The success of Wincenty's political narrative was made possible by the fact that his Chronicle of the Poles was a history textbook until the 19th century, rewr...

About the Book: In public life, Dr. Winthrop Bell of Halifax was a Harvard philosophy professor and wealthy businessman. But as MI6 secret agent A12, he evaded gunfire and shook off pursuers to break open the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin. His reports, the first warning of the Nazi plot for WWII, went directly to the man known as C, the mysterious founder of MI6. Throughout this, a power...

Jan Jekielek explains many facts/realities about CCP policies, activities, and laws. The first was the 2017 National Intelligence Law and the second the concept of Military-Civil Fusion, one of Xi Jinping’s seven national priorities. He discusses much of what we’ve learned about how TikTok works, and about what TikTok is, and how it is likely being used given these realities and precedents.

About the Lecture: Glenn Corn will provide a ground-level perspective of the current situation in Ukraine and discuss why it's important for the U.S. to support the Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion. About the Speaker: Glenn Corn is a 34-year veteran of the U.S. Intelligence and Foreign Affairs communities. Prof. Corn served for over 20 years abroad, including tours in Russia, Turkey, C...