SOF Three Day Symposium: Playing Chess with Putin: U.S. – Russia Relations Today
The present and future state of U.S.-Russia relations loom large for the current administration. Is a new partnership possible given each country’s political and national interests in the wake of possible election interference? What must be understood about Russia’s recent history and culture to understand where the country is headed today? Jill Dougherty and Matthew Rojansky will expertly guide us through these topics and more.
MODERATORS
Jill Dougherty is a distinguished visiting practitioner at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and a CNN Contributor who provides expert commentary on Russia. She previously worked as foreign correspondent for CNN for 30 years. In 2014, Dougherty served as a fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s JFK School of Government, where she conducted research on the Russian media and government’s communications strategy. She has a B.A. in Slavic languages and literature from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree from Georgetown where she focused on “Russia’s Soft Power Diplomacy.” Her articles have appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the Moscow Times. Dougherty is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Affairs Council.
Matthew Rojansky is director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he serves as an expert on U.S. relations with Russia. Previously, Rojansky was deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and executive director of the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA). While at PSA, Rojansky orchestrated high-level bipartisan initiatives aimed at repairing the U.S.-Russian relationship. In addition to advising governments on the region, Rojansky is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and serves as U.S. executive secretary for the Dartmouth Conference, a track-two U.S.-Russian conflict resolution initiative begun in 1960. Rojansky is frequently interviewed on TV and radio, and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. He holds an A.B. from Harvard and a J.D. from Stanford.