Recent Conferences & Workshops

Following are conferences and workshop that have taken place since 2010. Please visit our archived conference and workshop page for a list of earlier conferences and workshops.

conferences
workshops
pentagon & interagency workshops

  • Conferences

    40th IFPA-Fletcher Conference: Positioning Special Operations Forces for Global Challenges
    June 5 – June 6, 2013, Washington, D.C.

    On June 5-6, 2013, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) and the International Security Studies Program of The Fletcher School of Tufts University will convene a high-level conference in Washington, D.C., in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). “Positioning Special Operations Forces for Global Challenges” will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in downtown Washington, D.C. (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW). This will be the fortieth IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy, in a series widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier strategic dialogues.

     
    U.S. National Security Strategy & the New Strategic Triad: Capitol Hill briefing held by the Independent Working Group on Missile Defense and the Space Relationship
    April 20, 2012, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

    Organized by IFPA, this Capitol Hill briefing brought together expertise on space, nuclear modernization, and missile defense to discuss the synergistic relationships among these core components which together form the elements of a new Strategic Triad to support U.S. national security strategy and defense policy. The focus was priority issues and programs within and among space, nuclear modernization, and missile defense. Presentations were given by a panel of experts drawn primarily from IWG membership. The conference drew at least seventy-five participants from House and Senate staffs, the U.S. military services, the official civilian government, and the broader Washington, D.C., policy community. The program was videotaped as part of an effort to give broader dissemination to the presentations and discussion.

     
    39th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy: The Marine Corps—America's Expeditionary Force in Readiness
    April 14 – April 15, 2011, Washington, D.C.

     
    New START, Nuclear Modernization, and Missile Defense
    July 20, 2010, Washington, D.C., Independent Working Group Conference

    The event featured sessions on threats and recent trends in missile defense; current issues including New START , the Nuclear Posture Review, nuclear modernization, and implications for missile defense; and priorities, budget needs and constraints, and programmatic initiatives.

     
    38th IFPA-Fletcher Conference on National Security Strategy and Policy: Air, Space, and Cyberspace Power in the 21st-Century
    January 20 – January 21, 2010, Washington, D.C.

     

  • Workshops

    Beyond Hugo Chávez: What to Expect in Latin America
    May 8, 2013, Washington, D.C.

    IFPA's Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., moderated this seminar in the IFPA-Hudson "Democracy in Latin America" seminar series.

     
    Rowing Together: Developing Parallel Paths to Stability, Denuclearization and a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula
    May 9 – May 10, 2012, Beijing

    The first of two workshops held as part of the Rowing Together: Developing Parallel Paths to Stability, Denuclearization, and a Peace Regime on the Korean Peninsula project. The event was jointly organized by IFPA, the Beijing-based China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), and the Seoul-based Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) and included leading experts from China, South Korea, and the United States.

     
    U.S.-Japan Peacebuilding Cooperation: Roles and Recommendations
    March 31 – April 1, 2012, Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka, Japan

    This workshop, organized by IFPA and the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), was part of IFPA's ongoing Peacebuilding as a U.S.-Japan Alliance Mission project.

     
    Counter-Piracy and Counter-Terrorism Planning for Somalia and the Horn of Africa: Implications for NATO and NSHQ Planning
    January 10, 2012, The Hague, the Netherlands

    IFPA collaborated with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies to organize the seventh NATO SOF Coordination Centre (NSCC) Senior Steering Group (SSG) meeting, a workshop on Somalia and future requirements for counter-piracy and counter-terrorism planning. The workshop explored options for dealing with piracy and its potential use by al-Shabab to destabilize Somalia and its regional partners, and to understand more precisely the possibilities for and/or constraints on an expanded use of NATO, the European Union (EU), or national forces to support the African Union mission in Somalia (AUMIS), to shore up the position of the Transnational Federal Government (TFG) in and possibly beyond Mogadishu, and to empower regional forces in their fight against violent extremists on the African continent. A related workshop objective was to explore the possibilities for enhancing and broadening intelligence collaboration on counter-piracy and counter-terrorism planning between NATO and the EU, and how such collaboration could enable NATO SOF to position themselves more effectively should the Alliance’s political leaders decide to support a more forward-leaning position on Somalia and the Horn of Africa, either to facilitate World Food Program deliveries or to employ the use of force, under a new UNSC mandate, to target jihadi training camps, pirate bases, or other related logistical infrastructure on the ground in Somalia. 

     
    NATO Special Operations Headquarters Senior Steering Group Meeting
    May 24 – May 26, 2011, Krakow, Poland

    The fifth SSG meeting took place in Krakow, Poland, on May 24–26, 2011, in conjunction with the NATO SOF Commanders' Conference and the dedication of the new Polish SOF Headquarters. The NATO SOF Commanders' Conference featured a panel presentation by four SSG members, focusing on lessons-learned from Afghanistan and recent operations. The four SSG members who participated on this panel — Dr. Jacquelyn K. Davis, Dr. Rob de Wijk, Commodore Lars Wille-Jorgensen, and Dr. Andrzej Karkoszka — || had each traveled to Afghanistan with members of the NSHQ and met with ISAF and national SOF teams to hear their perspectives on lessons-learned and the way ahead for NATO SOF planning, training and education, and capabilities development. This meeting also featured the participation of senior Polish defense officials and leaders from U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), including Admiral Eric Olson.

     
    Peacebuilding as a U.S.-Japan Alliance Mission: Developing a Complementary “Whole-of-Alliance” Approach
    April 29, 2011, Washington, D.C., Center for Global Partnership (CGP), Partner Institution: Osaka University, Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP)

    The purpose of this event was to convene a group of experts and practitioners to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the United States and Japan in international peacebuilding operations. The workshop discussions were led by seven core research members representing U.S., Japanese, and UN perspectives on peacebuilding approaches, using Afghanistan and Sudan as case studies. Other participants were drawn from the government and NGO sectors and contributed to an open exchange of ideas about how Japan and the United States can best cooperate and work synergistically in a “whole-of-alliance” approach to peacebuilding operations in vulnerable or failing states.

     
    Risk Reduction & Confidence Building on the Korean Peninsula: Challenges, Opportunities & Implications for Regional Stability
    January 19, 2011, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    A one-day trilateral dialogue organized by IFPA, the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), and the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

     
    NATO Special Operations Headquarters Senior Steering Group Meeting
    November 21 – November 24, 2010, Mons, Belgium

    This meeting was held in Mons, Belgium, on November 21-23, 2010, in conjunction with the NSHQ's formal activation ceremony and a NATO SOF commanders' conference. At this meeting, Dr. Jamie Shea, then of the Secretary General's Private Office, reported on the results of NATO's Lisbon Summit and highlighted the creation of a new NATO directorate focused on emerging security challenges (where he will now work as its Deputy Assistant Secretary General). The SSG also considered ways to boost support for SOF forces, planning, and capabilities in national capitals and discussed new mission areas, emanating from NATO's New Strategic Concept, for NATO SOF.

     
    Terrorists, Drug Traffickers, and Gangs in Latin America: Undermining Democracy
    June 9, 2010, Washington, D.C., in association with the Hudson Institute and part of the Democracy in Latin America seminar series

     
    NATO SOF Headquarters Senior Advisory Group Meeting
    March 10 – March 11, 2010, Brussels and Mons, Belgium

    SAG members discussed models for the creation of a NATO SOF aviation element and considered new mission areas for which NATO SOF capabilities might be tasked.

     

  • Pentagon & Interagency Workshops

    Implementing a New Vision for SOCOM: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities
    February 29, 2012, Washington, D.C., a SOCOM-IFPA workshop
    U.S.-Russian Relations Beyond New START: What’s Next, What’s Possible, and What’s Necessary
    March 7, 2011, Washington, D.C., an IFPA-DTRA-EUCOM workshop
    Exploring Options for Iran: Implications for DoD and Interagency Planning
    January 28, 2011, Washington, D.C., an IFPA-DTRA workshop
    Preventing A Nuclear Iran: Current Challenges and Future Opportunities
    October 19, 2010, Washington, D.C., an IFPA-DTRA workshop
    Responding to a Nuclear Event Outside the United States: Synchronizing Department of Defense, Combatant Command, and Interagency Roles, Missions, and Capabilities
    September 29, 2010, Washington, D.C., in support of the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
    The Air Force's Nuclear Mission and the Future of Deterrence Planning
    June 11, 2009, Washington, D.C., in support of the chief of staff, U.S. Air Force