State of the World Series

We are excited to announce the launch of the State of the World Series, an annual initiative by the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures that aims to share expertise and foster meaningful discussion about some of the most pressing challenges facing our global community.

Join us on Oct 28th, 2024 from 5-6:15pm in 909 Renaissance Park. RSVP here for our inaugural event or tune in on livestream!

Daniel Drezner: Daniel W. Drezner is Professor of International Politics, a nonresident senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and the co-director of Fletcher’s Russia and Eurasia Program. Prior to joining The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, he taught at the University of Chicago and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has previously held positions with Civic Education Project, the RAND Corporation and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and received fellowships from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Council on Foreign Relations, and Harvard University. Drezner has written seven books, including All Politics is Global and Theories of International Politics and Zombies, and edited three others, including The Uses and Abuses of Weaponized Interdependence.

Dennis Kwok: Dennis Kwok was a pro-democracy lawmaker in Hong Kong elected as the sole representative of the legal profession in Hong Kong’s legislature from 2012-2020. Dennis was elected by his legislative peers to serve as Deputy Chairman of the House Committee from 2016-2020. During his time in office, Dennis focused on defending the rule of law and freedom, combatting human trafficking and advocating for democracy. Due to his stance, Dennis was disqualified from elected office by the PRC National People’s Congress in November 2020. After leaving public office, he served as senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School from 2021-2023, and he was appointed as a distinguished scholar at Georgetown University in 2021. He is currently teaching at Northeastern University.

Maria Ivanova: Maria Ivanova is a scholar of global governance working on the performance of international institutions, implementation of international environmental agreements, and sustainability. She is the Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University in Boston. Her book, The Untold Story of the World’s Leading Environmental Institution: UNEP at Fifty (MIT Press 2021), provides a comprehensive analysis of the origins and performance of the UN Environment Programme. In 2022, Ivanova was appointed one of the 55 Foundation Fellows of the International Science Council. She co-chaired the drafting process for the official letter from scientists and scholars to global leaders at the Stockholm+50 Conference, calling for urgent policy action for a sustainable planet. In 2022 she served on the Rwandan delegation to the UN Environment Assembly to negotiate the resolution to call for a global treaty on plastics. Ivanova was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. She is a member of the Technical Advisory Board to the Global Commission on Science Missions for Sustainability and the Joint Scientific Committee of WCRP as well as Ambassador for Transparency International.

Mai’a K. Davis Cross: Mai’a K. Davis Cross is the Dean’s Professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Diplomacy and Director of the Center for International Affairs and World Cultures at Northeastern University. She is an expert on European and transatlantic relations, with a focus on foreign and security policy, diplomacy, soft/smart power, and space policy. She has published eight books and special journal issues, including most recently International Cooperation Against All Odds: The Ultrasocial World (Oxford University Press, 2024). She holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University, and AB in Government from Harvard University. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.