October 12-13, 2017
57 Stodder Hall, University of Maine
Co-hosted by the School of Policy and International Affairs (SPIA) and the Cohen Institute for Leadership & Public Service, this conference will take place amidst an ongoing public debate about the Russia challenge and the evolution of what has been for nearly 70 years America’s most critical defense alliance (NATO). Its aim is to enhance an understanding of those challenges.
Our speakers include former diplomats and academics representing Russian, European, Ukrainian, and American perspectives. They will address Russia and Ukraine relations, European relations with Ukraine, Russian-European relations, U.S.-Russian relations, and Euro-Atlantic security. The conference will conclude with a roundtable discussion during which participants will respond to the assertions and conclusions made during other panel sessions.
This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.
PROGRAM
* All conference panels will be held in the Stodder Hall Graduate Commons (Rm. 57)
Directions may be found here
Thursday, October 12
8:45 AM – Russia and Ukraine Relations
Presenter: Constantine Pleshakov, former foreign policy analyst at the Institute of U.S. and Canada Studies in Moscow, author of The Crimean Nexus: Putin’s War and the Clash of Civilizations
Panelist: James W. Warhola, Professor of Political Science and Dr. John M. Nickerson Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine
10:30 AM – Ukraine and Europe Relations
Presenter: Eugeniusz Smolar, foreign policy analyst, Senior Policy Fellow and Member of the Board, and former President of the Centre for International Relations
Panelist: Kenneth M. Hillas, Jr., Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, UMaine; retired Senior Foreign Service Officer
12:00 PM – Lunch Break
1:00 PM – Russia and Europe Relations
Presenter: Bastian Hermisson, Executive Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s North America
Panelist: Ambassador (ret) Lawrence E. Butler, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia
2:45 PM – U.S.-Russia Relations
Presenter: Jeffrey Mankoff, deputy director and senior fellow with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program
Panelist: Seth Singleton, Adjunct Professor of International Relations, UMaine
Friday, October 13
9:00 AM – Euro-Atlantic Security
Presenter: Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Panelist: ADM Gregory G. Johnson, former commander U.S. Naval Forces, Europe and Allied Forces, Southern Europe
10:40 AM – Roundtable Discussion with All Speakers
12:00 PM – Conference Adjourns
Sponsors
The School of Policy and International Affairs and the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership & Public Service gratefully acknowledge the generous support from the following institutional grants and contributors:
- The Alton ’38 and Adelaide Hamm Campus Activity Fund
- Office of the President
- Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
- Department of Political Science
- Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center
- Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Office of International Programs
- Department of Anthropology
- International Affairs Program
- History Department