Distinguished Speaker Series

    As the United States approaches the historic milestone of the 250th Anniversary of its Independence, the Tennessee World Affairs Council will host a special Distinguished Speaker Series panel to reflect on the vital role of the United States Armed Forces in shaping, protecting, and leading the nation globally. This distinguished panel will provide […]

      The traditional framing of the "Middle East" as a discrete region oriented toward Europe has obscured a more fundamental reality: the region is Asian, shaped by Asia, and increasingly shaping the Asian order itself. The term "Middle East" itself, coined in 1902 by American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan to describe a […]

    For decades, global commerce was built on a simple premise: optimize for efficiency. Businesses designed supply chains to move products faster, cheaper, and more predictably—fueling unprecedented economic growth and global connectivity. But today's world operates by a different set of rules. Geopolitical shifts, technological disruption, climate events, and evolving customer expectations have fundamentally […]

    The Middle East is at a “hinge moment,” a period of transformative change where the old order is collapsing, and a new, region-driven multipolar order is emerging. The war with Iran is the most dramatic and consequential development shaping this emerging order; its trajectory and outcome will be definitive not only for the […]