The intended Workshop: "Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: the Americas, Europe/Eurasia, the Middle East" in Austin, Texas represents the third international conference organized by IPSA's Research Committee (RC 41) on Geopolitics, following those convened in Moscow (2010) and Jerusalem (2013). Unlike open international conferences, the Workshop framework is designed to limit panel participants to a select group of invitees - 10 to 15 people - each bringing to bear his or her disciplinary expertise or area studies specialization.
Accordingly, the Austin Workshop will be conducted in an open discussion format, with scholarly presentations divided into 3 panel sessions, with 3 - 4 papers at each session, followed by additional discussion among the academic participants, representatives of the government/policy and private sector professional communities and the St. Edward's University student and faculty campus audience.
Once the panelists have concluded their presentations, a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10-15 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and comments (45-60 minutes) from the audience. Once the panelists have concluded their presentations, a designated discussant will then respond with a brief set of oral comments (10-15 minutes), after which each panel chair will open the floor to questions and comments (45-60 minutes) from the audience.
The 3 panel themes are devoted to: 1. Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on America (Chair: Dr.
Sharyl Cross, St. Edward's University).
Paper-givers will include resident specialists on US-Latin America and US-Canada border issues from St. Edward's University and other local Texas universities. 2.
Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on the Middle East (Chair: Dr. Aharon Klieman, Tel-Aviv University). 3.
Borders and Geopolitics in the 21st Century: Focus on Europe/Eurasia (Chair: Dr. Igor Okunev, MGIMO University).
The chosen venue -- The Kozmetsky Center at St. Edward's University -- aims to enrich the intellectual life of St.
Edward's University and to serve as a resource for informing the broader public on critical global issues. It facilitates discussions among experts, students, faculty and the broader public in a variety of forums.
Past speakers include American and foreign diplomats, policy makers, university scholars, and leaders from within the business, non-profit and cultural communities. It also periodically hosts short-term resident visiting scholars and practitioners from the United States and around the world to share their expertise and diverse perspectives with the St.
Edward's University community.