News Release

Terrorism, the environment, weapons inspections in Iraq, post-Cold War power vacuums. These are some of the issues that will be explored by the speakers in the Johns Hopkins 2002 Symposium on Foreign Affairs, the theme of which is, "Paragon or Paradox? Capitalism in the Contemporary World."

Sen. Russell Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, begins the student-organized series on Monday, March 4, at 8 p.m. on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins, 3400 N. Charles Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Feingold, who chairs the Senate's Africa subcommittee, will look at power vacuums in post-Cold War Africa and what the United States can do about them.

Other speakers will include William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International U.S.A.; Maleeha Lodhi, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States; and Randall Hayes, president of the Rainforest Action Network. Benjamin Barber, author and political theorist, will talk about how capitalism may have fueled terrorism and what remedies might be available.

As executive director of Doctors Without Borders, Nicholas de Torrente will talk about the challenge of providing access to medical care and how that relates to capitalism.

On April 4, a panel discussion will look at the issue of weapons inspections in Iraq, with Scott Ritter, former U.N. chief weapons inspector for Iraq; Edward Peck, former chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad; and Erik Gustavson, director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center.

Formed in 1997, the Symposium on Foreign Affairs has become one of the leading events on the university's academic calendar. Undergraduate students comprise the staff of the symposium and develop every aspect of the event from recruiting speakers to raising funds to selecting the topics for discussion.

The following is a complete list of speakers, dates, times and locations. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 410-516-8214.

2002 Symposium on Foreign Affairs Monday, March 4 8 p.m., Glass Pavilion Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis. "Post Cold War Power Vacuums in Africa: Options for U.S. Policy" Thursday, March 7 8 p.m., Shriver Auditorium Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States "U.S.-Pakistan Relations" Thursday, March 14 8 p.m., Shriver Auditorium Randall Hayes, president and founder of the Rainforest Action Network "Restructuring the Global Economy: Eradicating Bretton-Woods and Creating New Institutions" Thursday, March 28 8 p.m., Glass Pavilion Dr. William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International U.S.A. "In Our Own Best Interests: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All" Thursday, April 4 8 p.m., Shriver Auditorium "U.S., Iraq and the War on Terrorism: A Panel Discussion" Panelists: Scott Ritter, Former U.N. chief weapons inspector to Iraq "Understanding the Roots of Terrorism: Iraq as a Case Study" Edward Peck, former chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad "Doing It All Wrong in the Middle East: An Effort to Provoke Thoughts, Not People" Erik Gustavson, director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center "Eleven Years of Humanitarian Crisis: Can Sanctions Be Reformed?" Wednesday, April 10 8 p.m., Glass Pavilion Benjamin Barber, Political theorist and author "Global Capitalism: Terrorism's Cause? Terrorism's Excuse? Terrorism's Remedy?" Wednesday, April 17 8 p.m., Glass Pavilion Nicolas deTorrente, executive director of Doctors Without Borders "Access to Essential Medicines: Challenging a Deadly Status Quo" NOTE: Additional speakers are subject to be added to the schedule. To learn more about the 2001 JHU Symposium on Foreign Affairs, and for continual updates, visit its web site at www.jhu.edu/~symposia.