7th Annual AGS Graduate Student Conference

The Roles and Challenges of Diplomacy in the 21st Century: Inclusion and Exclusion in a Globalized World

The fields of international relations and diplomacy have seen a shift from bilateral to multilateral diplomacy along with the growing role of non-state actors and countless pressing transnational challenges in an increasingly interdependent and globalized world. What does "diplomacy" mean in a world of multinationals, global NGOs, instant communications and special interests? Addressing this question requires an interdisciplinary debate and analysis.

This is the goal of the 7^th Annual AGS Graduate Student Conference: “The Roles and Challenges of Diplomacy in the 21^st Century: Inclusion and Exclusion in a Globalized World", to be hosted at the American Graduate School in Paris on April 19-20^th, 2012. Scholars, practitioners in the field and graduate students from countries around the world will gather to debate and discuss how diplomacy should address the new shifts and changing needs in the international system.

Participants will present and discuss such themes as: diplomacy and emerging technologies and tools; the emergence of non-state actors; soft versus hard power in international relations; diplomacy and democracy; conflict resolution; and the roles of ideology and identity in diplomacy. By connecting practitioners and academics, this 7th Annual AGS Graduate Student Conference will aim to develop and propose a new understanding and prescription for diplomacy.

Keynote Panel

The highlight of this year’s conference is a keynote panel on Thursday, April 19, 2012, in which career diplomats, including current and former ambassadors, will debate and discuss the recent evolution and the future challenges and opportunities of diplomacy.

The five panelists include Wilfried Bolewski, former Ambassador of Germany to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas; Philip Breeden, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Paris; Dominique Dreyer, former Ambassador of Switzerland to India and China and a faculty member at AGS; Samira Hanna-El-Daher, former Ambassador of Lebanon to Japan, Philippines and UNESCO and former Head of Mission to China and the UN - also a faculty member at AGS; and finally AGS Alumna Nina Sajic, Ambassador of Bosnia-Herzegovina to France. The panel will be moderated by Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann, Editorial Page Editor of the International Herald Tribune and a member of the Advisory Board of AGS.

See conference program

See conference poster

See call for papers

See Visa Information, Directions and Accommodations 

All are welcome to attend the conference or any of the panels. To register, contact Conference Student Coordinator Ryan Godfrey or Conference Faculty Advisor Dr. Ruchi Anand at conference@ags.edu.