Illuminating the Arts-Policy Nexus 

PANEL: President Lech Kaczynski: Poland in Globalization Introduction: David A. Andelman, Editor, World Policy Journal Featuring: President Lech Kaczynski, Republic of Poland Panel summary by Max Currier, World Policy Journal Amid glazed sea bass and raspberry chocolate purse, David Andelman introduced Lech Kaczynski, president of the Republic of Poland, as “the leader of perhaps the single most dynamic nation to emerge from the Warsaw Pact.” President Kaczynski agreed, pointing out through a translator that Poland is a large geographic nation with an emerging economy that will soon be the sixth largest in the European Union in terms of GDP growth per capita. Poland, he later added, should be the 20th member of the G-20 because it is robust economically and it seeks to “contribute” as an engaging and productive member of the global economy. Before a mixed European and American audience, President Kaczynski praised “the new U.S. administration” for taking “momentous decisions” regarding missile defense. “What we’re seeing is a new offer of American leadership in the world” based on “universal negotiations” for which “I wish all the best.” He characterized the U.S. "offer" in "the context of a changing multilateral world,” implying a difficulty in engaging both Europe and the United States, as well as Russia. “Reconciliation is better than conflict. … Development is always better than going backwards,” he said. "We will see in the coming years if this offer is doable.”

PANEL: Emerging Security Challenges Master of Ceremonies: Dr. John Henry Clippinger, Professor, Harvard University Panelists: Dr. Linton Wells, Distinguished Research Fellow and Force Transformation Chair, National Defense University Major General Robert Schmidle, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, United States Marine Corps Dr. Eric Bonabeau, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Icosystem Corporation H. E. Shaukat Aziz, Former Prime Minister, Pakistan Dr. Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics, National Defense University Dr. Thomas Malone, Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Sciences, Yale University Carol Dumaine, Deputy Director for Energy and Environment Security, U.S. Department of Energy Panel summary by Max Currier, World Policy Journal Dr. John Henry Clippinger began the discussion by enumerating a few of the many, disparate security challenges we face today: worsening climate change, unbridled access to conventional weapons, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Armed forces securing a perimeter, he said, is not a sufficient means of security anymore. Former Prime Minister Aziz noted other security challenges such as economic instability and “uppermost...the lack of leadership and cohesion at the global level.” Mr. Aziz insisted that terrorism is not primarily a security issue, however, but rather a symptom of societal problems—human rights, basic needs, education, women's rights, children's rights, and a lack of effective dispute resolution (which leads to helplessness)—that must be addressed at the root cause. “Eventually,” Mr. Aziz said, “you have to have dialogue. You can’t kill an entire population. But you do have to negotiate from a position of strength…using both carrots and sticks.” Carol Dumaine from the Department of Energy (DOE) paraphrased author Jared Diamond: “The single biggest problem is the idea that we have a single biggest problem.... It’s what we least expect that could be the greatest threat and also the greatest opportunity.” Accordingly, the Department of Energy is engaging an interdisciplinary approach to create “scenario and foresight techniques” that will allow for better identification of root causes and stresses on natural and man-made systems. This should, Dumaine contends, help the DOE anticipate how stresses may manifest in “high impact, unknown probability events in the area of energy security”—such as the impact of extreme weather on nuclear power facilities or Arctic ice-sheet disintegration on animal feed security.

After celebrating four decades in power last month, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi visited the United Nations (and the United States) for the first time and addressed the UN General Assembly today. He spoke after President Barack Obama, which symbolically, if not actually, created an uncomfortable encounter. The controversy over the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber “on compassionate grounds” and his subsequent hero’s welcome in Tripoli outraged many victims’ families and elicited a White House complaint. Many analysts and commentators have since remarked that this episode has confirmed the old cliché that a leopard cannot change his spots. Nevertheless, Washington faces a dilemma over whether to continue actively engaging Libya or to proceed with caution—holding short of military assistance or even re-imposing economic sanctions. There’s little argument that Libya has been (at least partially) rehabilitated, following the nation’s 2003 renunciation of nuclear weapons and the 2002 $2.7 billion settlement of the civil lawsuit from the 270 Lockerbie victims’ families that was paid out in stages over the following few years. In response, Washington facilitated the end of UN Security Council-imposed economic sanctions and, in 2006, removed the former pariah state from the list of nations that promote terrorism. Washington henceforth began the process of initiating military assistance to its erstwhile enemy. Much progress has transpired, particularly with respect to core U.S. national security interests, but internal politics and the ruling structure within Libya are still largely the same.