Conference Overview
Americans believe in elections as an essential element of democracy and stable government. But sometimes, elections not only change leaders but whole policy. The results of foreign elections can trigger American emotions ranging from elation to anger. U.S. elections can confuse foreigners, cause them to reevaluate their policies, and set off long-term policy changes and alignments abroad. In the midst of swirling electoral currents, U.S. diplomats are charged with maintaining our relations, explaining foreigners to Washington and Washington to foreigners, and advancing our interests even when we change our mind about what these are.
Join us at the 2024 American Academy of Diplomacy Conference as we look at these recurring themes through personal reflections and historic events with a focus on the different intersections elections make with diplomacy.
The conference is recommended for adults and senior high and/or university students. Registration for students is free with a valid student ID. Please add promo code AADSTUDENT at checkout.
This event will be held at Montalto. Use GPS Address: 1360 Montalto Loop Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902. Complimentary parking is available onsite - access requires driving up a steep mountain road with multiple switchbacks. The event will begin promptly at 1pm, registration opens at noon.
Presentations
U.S. Observation: Validation or Interference?
Both American and international observers watch elections, rate them, and often publicly speak to their conduct and fairness. Sometimes welcomed, quite often resented, these electoral missions and their outcomes can have strong influence on diplomatic relations. Dr. Graeme Bannerman will reflect on how observers complicate the conduct of relations during these tense times.
Policy Change Abroad: What Can Be Done When a Country’s Election Upturns Relations with the United States?
Speeches and policy positions taken during electoral campaigns abroad can threaten key U.S. interests and potentially relations themselves. When the election ends, everyone waits to see what the reality of the new government will be. Ambassador Wanda Nesbitt will discuss how an ambassador manages such a situation or the abrupt change in policy of the host nation.
American Elections: What just happened?
Americans are proud of their electoral system. Aside from a civil war and an occasional riot, elections and the peaceful transfer of power have been essential to maintaining our Republic for two centuries. But as U.S. diplomats sell democracy abroad, they are called on to explain our complicated (some might say convoluted) electoral system – things like how the electoral college works, how fair or democratic is our system, and why should our sometimes-fractious system be the one that anyone else should copy? Ambassador Phil Kosnett will reflect on lessons from the past and discuss how an ambassador maintains relations and advances key interests when a new administration arrives in Washington with radically different policy ideas.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Tyson Reeder will look back at the notable elections that impacted America diplomacy, including that of our nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson.
Ambassador Tom Shannon will provide a broad reflection on the intersection of elections and diplomacy, both foreign and domestic, and look at how they impact the image and interests of the United States around the world.
About the Presenters
Dr. Tyson Reeder is a historian of early American politics, constitutionalism, and foreign relations at Brigham Young University. He is a recognized authority on James Madison, most recently authoring Serpent in Eden: Foreign Meddling and Partisan Politics in James Madison’s America. Reeder edited The Routledge History of US Foreign Relations, and wrote Smugglers, Pirates, and Patriots: Free Trade in the Age of Revolution. Before joining the faculty at BYU, he was a faculty member at the University of Virginia, where he was an editor of the Papers of James Madison, with an expertise in Madison’s tenure as secretary of state.
Dr. M. Graeme Bannerman is the founder of Bannerman Associates, an international consulting firm. He is a former staffer for Middle East and South Asia on US Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1979-1987), as well as a former Middle East analyst on US State Department Policy Planning Staff. Dr. Bannerman previously taught at several universities, including Georgetown University, the George Washington University, and the American University of Beirut. He has served as international observer of elections in Georgia, the Philippines, Haiti, Pakistan, West Bank/Gaza, Mongolia and Yemen.
Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt most recently served as the Dean of the School of Language Studies. She holds the rank of Career Minister in the U.S. Foreign Service, joining the department in 1981 as a consular cone officer. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar from 2001 to 2004 and U.S. Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, President Obama nominated and the Senate confirmed Nesbitt as Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia. She also served as Senior Vice President at the National Defense University.
Ambassador Philip S. Kosnett represented the United States in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia during a Foreign Service career that focused on international security and post-conflict governance. Kosnett now consults, comments, and writes on global affairs and has taken on roles in education and humanitarian action. His senior postings included Ambassador to Kosovo; Charge d’Affaires (acting ambassador) in Turkey and Iceland; and Deputy Chief of Mission (deputy ambassador) in Uzbekistan. He served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a provincial administrator and senior political-military officer, and held political-economic, counterterrorism, and environmental diplomacy portfolios at U.S. missions in Japan and The Netherlands. He also held policy, crisis management, and intelligence positions in Washington.
Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. brings more than three decades of government service and diplomatic experience to his practice, providing strategic counsel to clients across a range of legislative, foreign policy, and national security issues. Most recently, Ambassador Shannon served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the third highest ranking position at the State Department. Holding the personal rank of Career Ambassador, he was the highest-ranking member of the United States Foreign Service, the country’s professional diplomatic corps. In addition to his political appointments, Ambassador Shannon served in the US Foreign Service at embassies in Guatemala, Brazil, South Africa, and Venezuela.