Past Events

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In a special series titled “Policy Lessons from the Past," four Texas-based policy experts will discuss how our shared history impacts today's political environment, spanning topics like racial justice, immigration, global confrontations and the very nature of democracy.

Will_Inboden_Headshot_Book_Cover

The LBJ Washington Center presents Dr. Will Inboden, a national security scholar from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. In this moderated discussion, Dr. Inboden masterfully describes Ronald Reagan's foreign policy and the role of the United States in ending the Cold War. This is the subject of his new book The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War and the World on the Brink.

Can't make the event? Subscribe to LBJ's podcast to listen on demand in January.

On Thursday, December 1st, the Strauss Center hosts Marisol Maddox, Senior Arctic Analyst at the Polar Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, for a talk on “Climate Changing Arctic Security: A Primer.” This talk will be held at the LBJ School of Public Affairs as part of the Strauss Center’s Brumley Speaker Series.

This event is brought to you by The Athenaeum at The University of Texas, a new interdisciplinary center for civil discourse and Socratic inquiry, the LBJ Foundation, LBJ School, and Clements Center for National Security.

The direction of the Republican Party and the meaning of conservatism have been the subject of very different visions in recent times. The 2024 election cycle will entail a debate among those visions. Distinguished conservatives George F. Will and Karl Rove are ideal partners for a conversation on this important topic. In this special event, they will discuss the future of the Republican party and of the American conservative movement. Their conversation will be moderated by Professor Will Inboden, Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and author of the new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink.
 

Speakers

George_Will_Jr_Headshot.jpg

George F. Will writes a twice-weekly column on politics and domestic and foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He began his column in 1974, and he received the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1977. He is also a regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. His latest book, American Happiness and Discontents, was released in September 2021. His other works include: The Conservative Sensibility (2019), One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation (2008), Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy (1992), and Men at Work: The Craft of Baseba. The profound influence of his column once led the Wall Street Journal to refer to him as “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America."

Karl_Rove_Headshot.jpg

Karl Rove is a Republican strategist, and the former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Pres. George W. Bush. As a consultant, he has worked on over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states. A one-time lecturer at the LBJ School, he is the author of several books, including the New York Times best-seller, Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight. Rove was also president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that was involved in over seventy-five campaigns for Republican candidates for president, governor and senator, as well as handling non-partisan causes and non-profit groups.

Headshot_Inboden_Will.jpg

William Inboden joined the LBJ School faculty after many years of working as a policymaker in Washington, DC, and directing a foreign policy think tank overseas. He is the William Powers, Jr. executive director of the Clements Center for National Security and a distinguished scholar at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He is also a National Intelligence Council associate and serves on the CIA's Historical Advisory Panel and State Department's Historical Advisory Committee. His most recent book, on the Reagan administration's national security policies, is The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan in the White House and the World on the Brink (2022).

athenaeum_lbjschool_lbjfoundation_logo

Clements_Center_logo.jpg

On Tuesday, November 29, the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Defense Research Advancement in the Office of the Vice President for Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors, and the America in the World Consortium will host Susan Colbourn, Associate Director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, the Sanford School

On Thursday, November 17, the Strauss Center is hosting a panel of experts in energy and cryptocurrency as part of its inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week. Dr. Carey King, Assistant Director at UT Austin’s Energy Institute joins UT research scientist Dr. Joshua Rhodes and Strauss Technology, Security, and Global Affairs Fellow Sina Kian in discussing energy consumption involved in cryptocurrency mining and the implications of this consumption.

Are cryptocurrencies the next frontier in innovation or a threat to national security?  How will decentralized finance, the metaverse, and other “Web3” applications affect counterterrorism, sanctions, and intelligence gathering?  Is Bitcoin a danger to the climate or a better way to finance green energy?  Strauss Center experts will consider these and other questions during the inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week.

This event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. Lunch will be served. For more information on this event, contact Susan Crane at scrane@austin.utexas.edu.

Biographies

Dr. Carey King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. Dr. King’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways. He is a  research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin and Assistant Director at the Energy Institute. He also has appointments with the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy within the Jackson School of Geosciences and the McCombs School of Business. He has both a B.S. with high honors and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published technical articles in the academic journals Environmental Science and Technology, Environmental Research Letters, Nature Geoscience, Energy Policy, Sustainability, and Ecology and Society. He has also written commentary for American Scientist andEarth magazines as well as major newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American-Statesman. Dr. King has several patents as former Director for Scientific Research of Uni-Pixel Displays, Inc.

Dr. Joshua Rhodes is a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, a non-Resident Fellow at Columbia University, and a Founding partner of IdeaSmiths LLC. His current work is in the area of smart grid and the bulk electricity system, including spatial system-level applications and impacts of energy efficiency, resource planning, distributed generation, and storage. He is interested in policy and the impacts that good policy can have on the efficiency of the micro and macro economy. He is a regular contributor to Forbes and is an AXIOS Expert Voice. He also sits on the boards of Catalyst Cooperative. He holds a double bachelors in Mathematics and Economics from Stephen F. Austin State University, a masters in Computational Mathematics from Texas A&M University, a masters in Architectural Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Sina Kian is Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel at Aleo, a startup building a decentralized blockchain that uses cryptography to provide significantly enhanced data security and privacy capabilities. Sina’s background is in law, policy, and finance. He graduated from Stanford Law School and clerked on the D.C. Circuit for Judge Thomas B. Griffith and Judge David S. Tatel, and on the Supreme Court for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. Sina then practiced law at WilmerHale, where he worked on appellate litigation in federal courts around the country, including the Supreme Court, and with the Strategic Response Group, a bipartisan group that assists clients in navigating multifaceted challenges with legal, public policy, and media dimensions. Following his time at WilmerHale, he transitioned to an investing role, working as a Vice President at Blackstone, and then as a Director at Kennedy Lewis, where he led investments in technology across sectors. Sina has also served as an advisor at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and currently serves as an advisor to SentiLink, a company that provides identity verification and fraud prevention services. He is a Term Member on the Council of Foreign Relations.

This event is designed for all prospective LBJ School students who are curious about diversity, inclusion and belonging and are committed to increasing representation in public leadership and policy school. Attendees will sit in on classes; meet current LBJ students, alumni and school leadership; and work with peer mentors on personal statements and any questions on the application process. If you identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Indigenous/Native American, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, a person with disabilities, a woman, or a veteran, this event is for you!

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. In a special series titled “Policy Lessons from the Past," four Texas-based policy experts will discuss how our shared history impacts today's political environment, spanning topics like racial justice, immigration, global confrontations and the very nature of democracy.

Jeremi_Suri_Headshot_and_Book_Cover

The LBJ Washington Center presents Dr. Jeremi Suri, a presidential historian from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. In this moderated discussion, Dr. Suri paints a portrait of a country rebuilding itself as it wrestles with competing visions of democracy, race and freedom. Dr. Suri's analysis of democracy starts in 1865 when the Confederacy was militarily defeated and continues through 2022. This is the subject of his new book Civil War by Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy. 

Can't make the event? Subscribe to LBJ's podcast to listen on demand in December.

On Wednesday, November 16, the Strauss Center is hosting the mini-conference, “Crypto Wars: Blockchains, Cryptocurrencies, and American National Security” during its inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week. This conference features experts on the intersection of blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies and national security and law.

Are cryptocurrencies the next frontier in innovation or a threat to national security? How will decentralized finance, the metaverse, and other “Web3” applications affect counterterrorism, sanctions, and intelligence gathering? Is Bitcoin a danger to the climate or a better way to finance green energy? Strauss Center experts will consider these and other questions during the inaugural Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Policy Week.

This event is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. Lunch will be served. For more information on this event, contact Susan Crane at scrane@austin.utexas.edu.

Agenda

2:00 – 2:30pm – Arrival

Coffee and lunch will be served

2:30 – 2:35pm – Welcome Remarks

Adam Klein, Director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law

2:35 – 3:15pm – “Blockchain Investigations”

Sujit Raman, General Counsel with TRM Labs and former Associate Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice

3:15 – 4:15pm – Keynote Remarks

Juan Zarate, Global Co-Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer of K2 Integrity and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes

4:15 – 5:00pm – Panel Discussion: “Crypto Ask Me Anything”

Sina Kian, Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel at Aleo and Technology, Security, and Global Affairs Fellow at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law

Sujit Raman, General Counsel with TRM Labs and former Associate Deputy Attorney General with the U.S. Department of Justice

Chinmayi Sharma, Scholar in Residence at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law and Lecturer at the University of Austin School of Law

Moderator: Adam Klein, Director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law

5:00 – 6:00pm – Reception in Bass Lecture Hall Lobby

Light refreshments will be served