The Center hosted Boston-area consuls general for a foreign policy briefing by our faculty and scholars. Local journalists were also invited. Seventeen consuls and officials attended the September 26 event at the Samberg conference center.

Richard Samuels, Ford international professor of political science and director of the MIT Center for International Studies, gave welcoming remarks and a talk on Japan's grand strategy.

The talks, followed by a question-and-answer session, covered a range of topics: Trump’s grand strategy (Barry Posen), Russian politics (Elizabeth Wood, Carol Saivetz), cybersecurity’s new challenges (Joel Brenner), the new nuclear age (Vipin Narang), China’s military strategy (Taylor Fravel), Japan’s grand strategy (Richard Samuels), Asian strategic dynamics (Eric Heginbotham), human rights in Saudi Arabia (Hala Aldosari), winning a war of ideas against ISIS (Richard Nielsen), and the US-Iran confrontation (Jim Walsh).

Hala Aldosari, Saudi scholar and activist and current Wilhelm fellow at CIS, speaking on the future of human rights in Saudi Arabia.