INTRODUCTION
• Toni Verstandig, Executive Vice President, The S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace; Board of Directors, Center for Global Development
CONVERSATION
• Michèle Flournoy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WestExec Advisors and former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
• Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development
PANELISTS
• Judd Devermont, Director of the Africa Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Corinne Graff, Senior Advisor on Conflict Prevention and Fragility, US Institute of Peace
• Carla Koppell, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown University’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security
• Gyude Moore, Visiting Fellow, Center for Global Development and former Minister of Public Works of Liberia
MODERATOR
• Sarah Rose, Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development
ABOUT THE EVENT
Global development is increasingly intertwined with state fragility. Poverty is becoming concentrated in fragile states, and conflict, violent extremism, and environmental stresses can emerge from and be exacerbated by fragility. As a result, many donors, including the United States, are reflecting on lessons of the past to rethink how they can better help fragile states address the underlying causes of fragility, build peace and stability, and cope with complex risks.
Please join us for the launch of a new CGD working group report, Focusing on Fragility: The Future of US Assistance to Fragile States, featuring a conversation with Michèle Flournoy, a preeminent thinker on US engagement in fragile states. Her leadership at the US Department of Defense from 2009 to 2012, along with her work advancing pragmatic and principled national security policies, have been critical in reshaping the US approach to fragile states in a pivotal era.
Following the conversation, a panel will discuss the findings and recommendations of the report which identifies several key constraints to executing a more effective US development policy in fragile states and offers specific ideas for how the US government can more effectively use its development assistance—in conjunction with diplomatic and security assistance tools—in these contexts.
Reception to follow.
