Recap: ARW #5, March 5-6, 2020

On the future of American diplomacy

Wide-ranging and engaging panels on climate change, national security in the upcoming decade, and the impact of foreign policy on presidential elections. Gripping conversations on the future of American diplomacy and bipartisanship with Ambassador William J. Burns and Senator Todd Young. An enthusiastic, 800-person crowd watching Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch accept the inaugural Richard G. Lugar Award on behalf of the men and women of the State Department, whose oaths to the Constitution compel them to act on behalf of the country, even when it is difficult.

America's Role in the World®, higher education's premier nonpartisan foreign policy conference, allowed for a diverse collection of experts, activists, journalists, and current and former members of the government and military with different points of view, political leanings, life experiences, and disciplines to interact in a collegial atmosphere of debate and inquiry. It was the type of experience, many participants noted, that serves as a model for the kind of political discourse the country should be striving to achieve.

Lara Jakes, diplomatic correspondent at The New York Times, moderated the panel on National Security Challenges in the 2020s with Andrew Bell (Hamilton Lugar School), Kelly Magsamen (Center for American Progress), Nicholas Rasmussen (McCain Institute), and Frank Rose (Brookings Institution).

Enriching the student experience

ARW® is the only conference of its kind that provides meaningful opportunities for students to engage and build relationships with the scholars, diplomats, journalists, activists, and practitioners at the forefront of shaping domestic and foreign policy.

Student editorial contest

Moral courage and the rule of law: Does justice ever require violating the law or the commands of authorities?

60 Minutes correspondent and ARW panelist Bill Whitaker awarded first place in the 2020 contest to Kira Axsiom, noting that he was "impressed by the passion coming through their writing and argument." Axsiom is a third-year HLS student with a double major in International Studies and India Studies with a concentration in Global Development and a minor in International Economics.

Read the winning opinion

Ambassador Burns signed books for students after his conversation with Susan Glasser on the future of American diplomacy.

#ARW2020: Day one

Caroline Duchette

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 1

Caroline is a fourth-year student majoring in International Studies and Portuguese with a minor in Global Health Promotion. She has accepted a position working as a Community Health Educator in Cameroon with the Peace Corps.

Climate Change & the American Public

"I'm not passionate about climate change; I'm terrified by it. And that's what fuels my work. Nobody's passionate about that and of the future as we know it... we are the first generation to see the biggest effects of climate change, but also the last to do literally anything about it."

Isabella Fallahi, Youth Climate Strike

A discussion and Q&A with Fallahi; Lee Gunn, Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.); Janet McCabe, IU Environmental Resilience Institute; Jessica O’Reilly, Hamilton Lugar School; and Emily Atkin, HEATED (moderator)

Watch session 1

Nikhil Jain

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 2

Nikhil is a third-year student majoring in International Law and Institutions and Central Eurasian Studies with a concentration on Turkish language and culture. He is a member of the HLS Global Student 7 advisory board and recently returned from a study abroad in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he studied Turkish and Azerbaijani language.

National Security Challenges in the 2020s

"The way we're going to compete with China is not just going to be in the South China Sea. It's going to be in places like Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio—investing in the American people, which is, frankly, the source of our global strength."

Kelly Magsamen, Center for American Progress

A discussion and Q&A with Magsamen; Andrew Bell, Hamilton Lugar School; Nicholas Rasmussen, McCain Institute; Frank Rose, Brookings Institution; and Lara Jakes, The New York Times (moderator)

Watch session 2

Ethan McAndrews

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 3

Ethan is a third-year student majoring in International Studies and East Asian Languages and Cultures. He is also member of the HLS Chinese Flagship Program, which allowed him to study in China until his internship was cut short due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

US-China Relations

"I think that 'trade war' is actually a misleading term, and it's an open question about how much leverage the US is going to have to compel China to make these really sweeping changes."

Wendy Leutert, Hamilton Lugar School

A discussion and Q&A with Leutert; Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, Axios; Adam Liff, Hamilton Lugar School; Daniel Twining, International Republican Institute; and John Yasuda, Hamilton Lugar School (moderator)

Watch session 3

Neha Srinivasan

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 4

Neha is a fourth-year student majoring in International Studies and Spanish with a minor in business. She has distinguished herself as a member of the Hutton Honors College, Board of Aeons, and the HLS Global Student 7 advisory board. She is also a Dean's scholar and Herman B Wells scholar—the highest level of academic achievement at Indiana University.

A conversation with Amb. William J. Burns

"If the key to unlocking aid is stroking the president’s vanity, why undertake the hard work of economic or political reform, with all the risks that entails?"

Amb. William J. Burns, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Ambassador William J. Burns, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, spoke with Susan Glasser, writer at The New Yorker and global affairs analyst at CNN. Introduction by Rep. Lee H. Hamilton.

Watch session 4

#ARW2020: Day two

Grace Miller

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 5

Grace is a fourth-year student pursuing a double major in International Studies and French and minors in Near Eastern Languages & Cultures and Political Science with concentrations in Diplomacy, Security, Governance, and the European Union. She plans to pursue a career in the foreign service after graduation.

Richard G. Lugar Lecture

"In the near future, American leadership will require bold action on three additional fronts: first, in strategic technological investment; second, in smart, flexible nuclear modernization; and third, in ensuring China remains the top priority of our military and our diplomats."

Sen. Todd Young (IN)

Sen. Todd Young gives remarks followed by a moderated conversation with John Stehr, Anchor Emeritus at WTHR. Introduction by IU President Michael A. McRobbie.

Watch session 5

Tyler Combs

STUDENT WELCOME
Session 6

Tyler is a fourth-year student majoring in Russian & East European Studies and Political Science. He is also the winner of the 2019 ARW Student Editorial Contest and will be one of 15 students to compete in the Jeopardy College Championship in April 2020.

Presidential Elections & US Foreign Policy

"Foreign policy is all about long-term strategic thinking. If our leaders aren't educating American people on the importance of this issue, the pocketbook issues will become worse."

Allison Stanger, Middlebury College

A discussion and Q&A Stanger; Whit Ayres, North Star Opinion Research; Geoffrey Garin, Hart Research Associates; Bill Whitaker, 60 Minutes; Marie Harf moderator, Fox News (moderator)

Watch session 6

Remarks & discussion with Amb. Marie Yovanovitch

"The reason we need to care about Ukraine... there's a geostrategic reason, but there's also the fact that whatever we see in Ukraine, we also see either in whole or in part in other parts of the world, including the United States. And we can't allow that to happen."

Amb. Marie Yovanovitch, US Department of State (ret.)

Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, former US Ambassador to Ukraine, speaks with Ambassador Lee Feinstein and took live questions from students. The event also includes the presentation of the Richard G. Lugar Award by IU President Michael A. McRobbie. Introduction by IU Provost & Executive Vice President Lauren Robel.

Watch session 7
Watch the Lugar Award video

Amb. Marie Yovanovitch is a 1979 alumna of the Hamilton Lugar School's Language Workshop, one of the oldest and most diverse summer programs in the country.

#ARW2020 Guests in the News

"... as the Chinese and Russian models of authoritarian leadership and centralized economies emerge, we must put aside our doubts, embrace our traditional values and leadership role, and let the world know that U.S. global leadership is back."

Rep. Lee Hamilton

Distinguished Scholar, Hamilton Lugar School

See what they're saying

We have the responsibility to ensure that our first impulse in foreign affairs is one of bipartisanship. And we have the responsibility to speak plainly when we disagree with the administration, but to avoid inflammatory rhetoric that is designed merely to create partisan advantage or to settle partisan scores.

Sen. Richard Lugar, during the Senate debate on the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be US Secretary of State (2005)