Diplomats from Several Countries to Discuss the Future of International Diplomacy at the American Graduate School in Paris Conference on April 19, 2012

PARIS, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 19th, the American Graduate School in Paris (AGS – www.ags.edu) will host diplomats from the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Lebanon to discuss the recent evolution and the future of international diplomacy. This panel will be open upon registration to the general public and to scholars, students, and journalists. This will be the keynote panel of a two-day graduate student conference on "The Roles and Challenges of Diplomacy in the 21st Century: Inclusion and Exclusion in a Globalized World" organized by AGS (Paris, France, April 19-20).

The four panelists include Wilfried Bolewski, former Ambassador of Germany to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas; Philip Breeden, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Paris; Dominique Dreyer, former Ambassador of Switzerland to India and China and a faculty member at AGS; and Samira Hanna-El-Daher, former Ambassador of Lebanon to Japan, Philippines and UNESCO and former Head of Mission to China and Australia - also a faculty member at AGS. The panel will be moderated by Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann, Editorial Page Editor of the International Herald Tribune and a member of the Advisory Board of AGS (see profiles: http://www.ags.edu/news-and-events/ags-annual-conference/conference-2012/panelist-bios).

The panelists will debate the subject of whether and how diplomatic practice has changed in response to recent transformations in global politics, more specifically the contemporary shift from bilateral, state-to-state diplomacy to networked, multi-stakeholder diplomacy and the newly enhanced role of non-governmental actors. They will share their concept of diplomacy and critically evaluate its role today in order to pave a direction for the future.

"With the tripling of the number of sovereign states in just 50 years, with the proliferation of global businesses and organizations, and especially with the revolutionary change in communications and information, it is critical to examine exactly what 'diplomacy' means any more," said Mr. Schmemann.

The keynote panel and two-day conference will take place in France at the American Graduate School in Paris, in the Fondation Alliance Francaise building, and will be broadcast in the US to AGS's partner institution Arcadia University (Glenside, PA). This is the 2012 edition of the annual conference organized by AGS graduate students under the coordination of AGS Professor Ruchi Anand, an expert on International Relations and the author of two books: Self-Defense in International Relations (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and International Environmental Justice: A North-South Dimension (Ashgate Publishing, 2004).

The American Graduate School in Paris is a nonprofit institution of higher education offering US programs in France to students from around the world. AGS specializes in teaching and research in the fields of International Relations and Diplomacy as well as Business and Economics. The school's core Master's program in International Relations and Diplomacy was started in 1994 and is accredited in the US through Arcadia University.

For more information and to register:
http://www.ags.edu/news-and-events/ags-annual-conference/conference-2012

Contact: Corentine Chaillet: [email protected] -Tel: +33(0)147200094

SOURCE American Graduate School in Paris