Past Programs

Dr. Sara Newland, Assistant Professor of Government at Smith College, is a scholar of local politics in China and Taiwan, and seeks to understand the behavior of local officials as domestic public servants and as actors in international relations. Her research on local governance and public service provision has been published in China Quarterly and Governance. Her new work focuses on subnational diplomacy, and in particular on the role that state and local officials play in the complicated relationships between the U.S., China and Taiwan. Her work on U.S.-Taiwan subnational engagement has been published in Pacific Review, and she is currently working on a book project (with Kyle Jaros) on U.S.-China subnational diplomacy in an era of rising great power competition. Her talk was given on February 11, 2025 as part of the Instant Issues Series of events.

Martha Hodes, Professor of History at New York University. Her talk at the 2024 Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Western Massachusetts World Affairs Council. Date: October 10, 2024.

The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts presented John Feffer, Director of Foreign Policy in Focus and Global Just Transition at the Institute for Policy Studies, on What Do Voters Want and Will They Get it?, a round-up of recent national elections in France, the United Kingdom, Iran, and elsewhere.