The Need for American Ingenuity in Global Peacebuilding: A Conversation with Ambassador Rick Barton
October 31st, 2018 12:00PM -1:30PM
A quarter-century of U.S. military interventions around the globe – Bosnia, Rwanda, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria – have had high costs and few peacebuilding successes. U.S. policymakers have not been able to turn strategic advantages into positive and sustainable changes in places wracked by war. Why not? And what does the United States need to do differently? Please join the World Affairs Council for a lunch discussion with Ambassador Rick Barton, who argues that innovation is crucial for successful peacebuilding. Barton’s experience as a diplomat, having been immersed in more than forty global conflicts, drives his insights as to when, where, and how the United States can make a meaningful difference in ending violent conflicts and bringing about a more peaceful world.
Please note that the World Affairs Council is partnering with the Rotary Club of Seattle for this event. The discussion with Ambassador Barton will take place during the last half hour of Rotary 4’s weekly Wednesday luncheon. Please be sure to check in at the World Affairs Council registration table at the event.
About the Speaker:
Rick Barton currently teaches at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, where he serves as the co-director of Princeton’s Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiatives and Ullman Fellowships. He has served as an American ambassador to the United Nations and the Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees at the U.N. and was the first Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations under President Obama. He has led conflict management initiatives in crisis zones across the globe, in countries as diverse as Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria, and Turkey. Barton has published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, The Boston Globe, and numerous other international outlets. He has been a frequent guest on news shows ranging from NPR to The O’Reilly Factor.
The Boeing Company is an underwriting sponsor of all World Affairs Council Community Programs