The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday November 12th at 4:00 pm. The discussion topic will be Foreign Policy Implications of the U.S. Elections Outcome. The meeting will be held
on Zoom, and all WACMB members are invited to participate.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday October 1st at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be The Rapidly Changing Arctic and Its Global Impact based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of September 30 by Dr. Brendan Kelly.
“Polar ice caps are melting as global warming causes climate change. We lose Arctic Sea ice at a rate of almost 13% per decade, and over the past 30 years the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has declined by a stunning 95%. If emissions continue to rise unchecked the Arctic could be ice-free in the summer of 2040. What happens in the Arctic does not stay in the Arctic. Sea ice loss has far reaching effects around the world.” – World Wildlife Fund
Brendan Kelly, a marine biologist with a focus on sea ice environments – along with Indigenous, scientific, and canine collaborators – has documented ecological consequences of rapidly diminishing snow and sea ice cover. He subsequently devoted much of his career to studying environmental change in the Arctic and the consequences for ecosystems and people. Dr. Kelly is a senior fellow with the Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. His lecture covers the current state of the Arctic, the consequences of change, and the prospects for a sustainable future.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB + OLLI World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday September 3rd at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Russia and the United States in Space: Conflict or Cooperation? based on the WACMB dinner lecture of August 27 by Colonel William McArthur.
Some believe that space exploration over the next few decades will change the face of global politics. Already competition between the United States, China, and Russia in space is having consequences for us here on Earth. In March of this year the U.S. House Intelligence Committee became alarmed when they discovered that Russia was developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon potentially armed with a nuclear warhead. Space is central to our communications, economics and military strategy, and increasingly important to international relations.
Colonel William McArthur is a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station via the Russian Soyuz capsule, logging 224 days in space. He discussed the evolution of cooperation in human spaceflight, the new space race, the key players and their goals, and the prospects for fostering collaboration rather than conflict.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday August 6th at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Navigating the Geopolitical Impact of Artificial Intelligence, based on the WACMB dinner lecture of August 1 by Russell Wald.
The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have brought forth innumerable benefits, possibilities, and challenges. Russell Wald discusses how AI will affect governments and governance across the world and what it will mean for the geopolitical environment. Wald takes us through the latest trends in AI development and how that is impacting the economic and security competition that has been engendered by the rise of AI, which will form the basis for our discussion.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Tuesday July 2nd at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Thailand’s Polarized Politics: Entrenched Elite & Implications for U.S. Policy, based on the WACMB luncheon lecture of June 28 by James Stent.
Over recent decades, the popular aspirations in Thailand for a fully democratic and more just society have run up against entrenched resistance and repression from an elite determined to defend its political control and economic privileges. Polarization between the contending forces has steadily increased. In his talk, Jim Stent describes the underlying cultural and historical issues leading to polarization and outlines the issues at stake today between the contending forces. His presentation includes a discussion of how this domestic political drama conditions the geostrategic rivalry in Southeast Asia between China and the United States, and what the U.S. needs to do to retain the good will of Thailand, a major non-NATO ally.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB World Affairs Discussion Group will meet on Friday June 7th at 4:00 pm by Zoom. The discussion topic will be Mexico’s Elections, which take place this coming Sunday, June 2nd.
Mexico’s elections on June 2nd will choose a new president and an entirely new national Congress. Much attention will be focused on the choice of a new president, as Mexico’s constitution does not allow the popular incumbent president, López Obrador, to run again. Many argue that no other country has more impact on the daily lives of Americans than does our southern neighbor. Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner and production partner. It is also the entry way for massive amounts of deadly, illegal drugs and large flows of migrants.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
The WACMB offers these moderated discussions which for decades have generated insightful exchanges. Eight critical topics in the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions 2024 briefing book will be discussed in a moderated group setting. After viewing an online master class for each topic, which complements the week’s reading, participants are invited to share their knowledge and views. Those who would prefer to listen rather than be an active participant in the discussions are welcome.
Dates in 2024: Tuesdays, Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27 & March. 5, 12, 19, 26
Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
Fee: Free – All Welcome (8 sessions)
Place: Livestream Zoom
There are two ways to register: send an email with your first and last name to discussiongroup@wacmb.org, or register via OLLI (from January 18) at https://olli.csumb.edu/courses/
The Great Decisions Briefing Book is not included. It provides background provided by recognized experts. Order directly, please: online at https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/index.cfm?act=show_material&product_id=16886, or call (800) 477-5836, or email sales@fpa.org. Cost $35+ shipping (no shipping charge for ebook).
First topic: Mideast Realignment (February 6) – Marc Lynch
The United States and Middle East are at a crossroads. In spite of a reduced presence in the Middle East, the U.S. still has significant national interests there and the area is a key arena for global power politics. Can the U.S. continue to defend its interests in the Middle East and globally with a lower level of military and political involvement or, should it recommit to a leading role in the region?
Topics for subsequent sessions:
Climate technology and competition. Presented by Bud Ward
Science across borders. Presented by Mila Rosenthal
U.S.-China trade rivalry. Presented by Jonathan Chanis
NATO’s future. Presented by Sarwar Kashmeri
Understanding Indonesia. Presented by Charles Sullivan
High Seas Treaty. Presented by Foreign Policy Association Editors
Pandemic preparedness. Presented by Carolyn Reynolds
Our fourth and final combined WACMB + OLLI world affairs discussion group meeting of the fall season will be held on Monday, December 4th at 5:00 PM PST via Zoom.
The discussion topic is Whither the Dollar: How shall we be affected if the greenback is no longer the reserve currency? following on the November 20th WACMB luncheon presentation on this subject by Professor Barry Eichengreen from UC Berkeley.
The U.S. dollar has been the world’s reserve currency since 1944, where transactions in international trade and foreign exchange market are mostly conducted in U.S. dollars. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine when the U.S. imposed draconian sanctions on Russia and froze their foreign reserve funds, other countries awoke to their own vulnerability to the weaponization of the international bank-messaging system known as SWIFT by the U.S. because of the dominance of the U.S. dollar. As a result, many countries have shaved some of their dollar holding and increased their gold holding in their foreign exchange reserves. Last year, leaders of Brazil, India, China, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and a few others have called for creating an alternative means to trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. What would de-dollarization mean for geopolitics and the U.S. and the world economy?
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
Our third combined WACMB + OLLI world affairs discussion group meeting of the fall season will be held on Monday, November 6th at 5:00 PM PST via Zoom.
The discussion topic is U.S.-China Relations: Handle with Care, following on the October 25th WACMB luncheon presentation on this subject by Dr. David Michael Lampton of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Foreign Policy Institute.
For the past ten years, the United States and China have been locked in competition for who has the greatest global influence. As they enter what looks like a new Cold War of sorts, Dr. Lampton discussed: (i) how both nations arrived at today’s juncture in U.S.-China relations, (ii) how to think about the perils of that new, more conflictual circumstance, and (iii) what both sides need to do to put our two countries on a more promising trajectory, which will frame our discussion.
If you are interested and have never attended this Discussion Group, just send a request to discussiongroup@wacmb.org to receive log-in information and related study materials.
Come join the conversation!
