Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Harvard BA ’89), president of the Greek opposition party Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy,) laid out his vision for a tough but achievable strategy to revitalize the Greek economy and strengthen the nation’s ties to the European Union in an October 13 seminar.

Sandri Gozi, Italian Undersecretary of State for European Affairs, joined the Future of Diplomacy Project on November 1 for a discussion titled “Italy, the EU and the US: A Conversation on Transatlantic Challenges.”

Natalie Jaresko (MPP ’89), former Finance Minister of Ukraine, returned to Harvard on October 31^st, 2016 to take part in the Future of Diplomacy Project’s international speaker series. In a public seminar moderated by Faculty Director Nicholas Burns, Jaresko, who currently serves as chairwoman of the Aspen Institute Kyiv, reflected on her time in office from 2014 to 2016. In her two years in office, the Ukrainian government  had to contend with the Russian annexation of Crimea, a national debt crisis, widespread governmental corruption, and political instability.

On 24 and 25 November 2016 experts from politics and academia, including FDP Executive director Cathryn Clüver, discussed the impact of Brexit on several policy areas in a series of workshops at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. All events took place under Chatham House rules.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, the Future of Diplomacy Project, in collaboration with the Körber Foundation, hosted a panel at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum, one of the largest and most influential conferences of its kind. The event livestream attracted thousands of individual viewers.

Dr. Ian Bremmer, expert in political risk and founder of the Eurasia Group, gave a seminar sponsored by the the Future of Diplomacy Project on Thursday, November 9 at the Harvard Kennedy School, titled “Managing Risk in an Unstable World."

This has significant implications for the US and for its next president. Europe remains America’s largest trade partner and investor, and 25 European nations are members of Nato, its most important military alliance. As a global power, the US must interact with every major region of the world. But for all the undeniable importance of the so-called pivot to Asia, the next US president may have to focus first on Europe.

In the US and elsewhere, populist politicians nowadays often claim that easy monetary policy is hurting ordinary workers, thereby exacerbating income inequality. But while inequality is a problem, raising interest rates is no way to address it.

To say otherwise is a strange claim for anyone to make, especially populists. After all, low interest rates benefit debtors and hurt creditors, as does the inflation that can be spurred by monetary easing.

In fact, it may be premature to draw such broad conclusions.

Some economists attribute the current surge of populism to the “hyper-globalization” of the 1990s, with liberalization of international financial flows and the creation of the World Trade Organization – and particularly China’s WTO accession in 2001 – receiving the most attention. According to one study, Chinese imports eliminated nearly one million US manufacturing jobs from 1999 to 2011; including suppliers and related industries brings the losses to 2.4 million.

The Right Honourable Douglas Alexander offered his views on European security in a discussion moderated by FDP Executive Director Cathryn Cluver.

Putin and his government seek respect, stability from next U.S. administration, panel says.

His Excellency Gerárd Araud, French Ambassador to the United States, opened the autumn 2016 programming of the Future of Diplomacy Project on September 12, 2016.

The Federal Reserve system and its chair are to be applauded for welcoming challengers and critics into their midst. The willingness of many senior officials to meet with the "Fed Up" group is also encouraging. And it's important for critics like me to remember that the policy explorations of today often become the conventional wisdom of tomorrow. In this regard, the fact that the Fed has now recognized that the decline in the neutral rate is much more than a temporary reflection of the financial crisis is a very positive sign.

On balance, though, I am disappointed by what came out of Jackson Hole judging by news reports, as I was not there. First, the near term policy signals were on the tightening side, which I think will end up hurting the Fed’s credibility and the economy. Second, the longer term discussion revealed what I regard as dangerous complacency about the efficacy of the existing toolbox. Third, there was failure to seriously consider major changes in the current monetary policy framework.

India is seeking to become the world’s newest hub international arbitration hub by establishing a new arbitral center in Mumbai. The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA), which begins proceedings this month, will be India’s very first arbitration tribunal. India and South Asia Program Senior Fellow, Ronak Desai looks at what this institution will look like and what's its placement in the region will mean for the international business community.

Speaking on the BBC, the UKIP leader Nigel Farage called the Brexit result a victory for “ordinary people, decent people.” This offered a revealing insight into the way Farage regards the 48 percent of people who voted to remain inside the EU. It was certainly a defeat for Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George Osborne, and other members of the government who remained loyal to them. It was also a resounding defeat for bookmakers, political scientists, most media pundits, most pollsters, and the vast majority of investors. Among these were the same experts who failed to foresee that Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination.

As G7 leaders convene in Ise-Shima, Japan, the global economy’s fragility is a top concern. But instead of focusing on currency wars, the leaders of the major developed economies should be discussing fiscal policy, which under current conditions would be a more powerful tool than monetary policy for boosting economic activity. After all, today, unlike in normal times, the effects of fiscal policy would not be limited by too-high interest rates, inadequate private demand, strict capacity constraints, or excessive inflation.