Tag Archives: foreign policy

SECWAC Hosts Talk on ‘Trump 2.0 Middle East Policy: Promise and Peril,’ Nov. 6

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EAST LYME–On Thursday, Nov. 6, the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) will host Middle East Institute Senior Fellow Brian Katulis for a talk titled, “Trump 2.0 Middle East Policy: Promise and Peril.” 

The 6 p.m. presentation will be held at Flanders Fish Market & Restaurant, 22 Chesterfield Road, East Lyme. The talk will be preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception and followed by a members-only dinner at 7:15 p.m. 

SECWAC in an a press release said Katulis’ presentation will assess whether President Donald Trump’s overall foreign policy approach—which he says is characterized by transactional diplomacy, selective military engagement, and attempts to use America’s economic power to gain global leverage—is likely to produce a more durable and sustainable security environment in the Middle East, amid a rapidly evolving regional landscape.

The talk comes 10 months’ into the second Trump administration, which has been marked by a noteworthy trip to the Gulf, a major policy shift on Syria, U.S. military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, and the emergence of a 20-point plan for Gaza, which began with the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Katulis specializes in US foreign policy and national security at the Middle East Institute. He hosts the institute’s podcast series, “Taking the Edge Off the Middle East,” and writes a bi-weekly column on U.S. foreign policy. He has decades of experience living and working in the Middle East, where he has forged relationships with leaders in government, the private sector, media, national security and many international organizations.

Katulis co-authored The Prosperity Agenda with Nancy Soderberg to examine how America’s economic advantages can be used to shape global dynamics. He is frequently quoted in leading news publications and media outlets.

Katulis holds a master’s degree in public affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in history and Arab and Islamic studies from Villanova University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Amman, Jordan from 1994-95, where he conducted a research project on the peace process between Israel and Jordan.

SECWAC members are free. Non-Member in-person attendance is $20. Non-Members may visit this link to register. A post-presentation dinner will follow at the Old Lyme Inn for members only. 

For more information on SECWAC, visit their website.

SECWAC Hosts Talk in Essex on ‘The Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy’

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Monica Duffy Toft

On Wednesday, May 7, at 5 p.m., the Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts acclaimed scholar of international politics Monica Duffy Toft at the Essex Yacht Club for a talk titled “Dying by the Sword: The Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy.”

Toft is Academic Dean and Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. 

Her areas of research include international security, ethnic and religious violence, civil wars, and demography.

Before joining Fletcher, Toft taught at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, she directed the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and was the assistant director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies. 

Toft was educated at the University of Chicago, where she received her master’s and doctoral degrees in political science, and at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated summa cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in political science and Slavic languages and literature. 

Before attending college, she spent four years in the United States Army as a Russian linguist. 

Registration is free to members or $20 for non-members. Register at this link.

A reception will begin at 4:30.