The New Silk Road Strategy: US Policy in Afghanistan and Greater Central Asia post-2014

SILK ROAD FORUM with Dr. S. Frederick Starr

The New Silk Road Strategy: US Policy in Afghanistan and Greater Central Asia post-2014

Thursday, May 10, 2012, 13:00 – 14:30

In July, 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a speech in Chennai, India, to announce a NEW SILK ROAD STRATEGY for Afghanistan and the region. What is the strategy? What specific tactical measures will accompany it? What does it mean for Afghanistan? Or for Central Asia, Pakistan, India, etc.? Of course, the new strategy does not arise in a vacuum. What has the government of Afghanistan been doing along these same lines, and what are the ambitious goals of the Asia Development Bank in this same area? What does it mean for America’s European partners? Finally, what are the chances that all this activity will prove successful?

Dr. S. Frederick Starr is Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program. He is a Research Professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. His research, which has resulted in twenty books and 200 published articles, focuses on the rise of pluralistic and voluntary elements in modern societies, the interplay between foreign and domestic policy, and the relation of politics and culture.

Starr holds a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University, an MA from King’s College, Cambridge University, and a BA from Yale University. He is also the holder of honorary degrees from Middlebury College, Olivet College, Marietta College, and Loyola University. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Tri-Lateral Commission. Among Starr’s most important works are Red and Hot: The Fate of Jazz in the Soviet Union (1983); Southern Comfort: The Garden District of New Orleans, 1800-1900 (1989 and 1998); Legacy of History in Russia and the New States of Eurasia. He is a frequent commentator on the affairs of the region, and the author of numerous articles in journals including Foreign Affairs, The National Review, Far East Economic Review, and op-eds in various leading American and international newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and others.

Location: ISDP, Västra Finnbodavägen 2, Stockholm-Nacka. For a map and directions, please go here.

To attend: RSVP to Ms. Ebba Mårtensson at emartensson@isdp.eu