The inaugural UC Berkeley Global Forum, hosted by the Institute of International Studies (IIS) and co-sponsored by the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025, at Banatao Auditorium on the UC Berkeley campus. The conference will address the topic of contemporary challenges in the Asia-Pacific region with a deliberate Pacific-Rim orientation, underscoring Berkeley's position as the flagship public institution in California, as well as California's leading economic role in the world. This forum is motivated in part by one of IIS's broader goals: to bring more of the world to Cal, and to bring more of Cal to the world.   

The conference aims to bring together leading scholars and practitioners together to analyze, debate, propose solutions to several contemporary challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to provide an opportunity for Berkeley students, faculty, alumni, and Bay Area international affairs professionals to engage with leading scholars, practitioners, and journalists regarding issues of contemporary importance. Although the four main topics represent a small fraction of the many challenges facing the region today, they are each of critical importance. Each panelist will deliver ten minutes of prepared remarks, followed by a discussion moderated by a UC Berkeley faculty member. 

The forum will open with a keynote address by Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, President of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California, on the evening of May 1 for panelists and and a small number of invited guests. 

The May 2 conference panelists include Berkeley alumni who have pursued distinguished careers in international affairs, as well as a mix of early career scholars, faculty with deep expertise in the region, experienced journalists, and experts in the foreign policy of multiple countries in the region. Within the constraints of a one day conference and our budget we sought to include a range of perspectives. We also include representatives from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Carnegie California, alumni of the International Strategy Forum, Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Center for Global Security Research, the Atlantic Council, and multiple universities. The day will conclude with discussion between the three directors of our host institutions, Prof. Penny Edwards, Prof. Daniel Sargent, and Prof. Susan Hyde, who will reflect on the day's findings engage with the panelists and the audience (as time allows) in debate whether the next half century is likely to be more or less "pacific" in the region as well as how the world is likely to be oriented towards the Indo-Pacific. 

For attendees, this conference presents an exciting opportunity to expand the international affairs network at UC Berkeley and engage in productive, high-level discourse. 

For guests, we hope you can join us for the full day on May 2, but the event registration includes an option to register for specific panels if that is all your schedule allows. A light breakfast and a casual lunch will be provided to audience members attending for the full day. 

Please note that as is standard for ticketed events on campus, a code of conduct reflecting respect for academic freedom and an open exchange of ideas will be enforced, consistent with UC Berkeley's longstanding free speech policy as well as time, place, and manner guidelines.  Advanced registration is required (see below for the registration link). Space is limited. The event will not be recorded or broadcast. 

If you cannot attend the conference but are interested in joining IIS's mailing list for future public events, you can sign up here.

Public Schedule (Subject to Updates)

May 2, 2025

8:30-9:00 Coffee and Light Breakfast Available

9:00-9:05 Opening Remarks

9:05-10:30 Panel 1: Critical Minerals, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chain Geopolitics

10:30-12:00 Panel 2: The Future of Californian Engagement in the Asia-Pacific 

12:00-1:00 Lunch for Panelists and Attendees Provided in the Banatao Atrium 

1:00-2:15 Panel 3:  Middle Powers and Transformations of Regional Governance in Asia

2:15-2:30 Short break with coffee and tea

2:30-3:45 Panel 4: Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy in the Trilateral (US, ROK, Japan) 

3:45-5:00 Panel 5: The End of the Pacific Century? A Moderated Discussion

Location

List of Participants

Panel 1: Critical Minerals, Critical Technologies, and Supply Chain Geopolitics 

MODERATOR: Wen-hsin Yeh, Richard H. and Laurie C. Morrison Chair Professor & Distinguished Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley

• Yangyang Cheng, Research Scholar and Fellow, Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School

• Clara Park, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder; Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Duke University 

• Xiaobo Lü, Associate Professor, Department of Government, University of Texas, Austin (soon to be Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley)

• Trisha Ray, Associate Director, GeoTech Center, Atlantic Council 

Panel 2: The Future of Californian Engagement in the Asia-Pacific

MODERATOR: Andrew W. Reddie, Associate Research Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

• Benjamin Leffel, Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Leadership, University of Nevada

• Scott Kohler, Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie California

• Philip W. Yun, Co-President & Co-CEO, Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California, San Francisco

Panel 3: Middle Powers and Transformations of Regional Governance in Asia

• MODERATOR: Nicolas Tackett, Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley 

• Basant Sanghera, Managing Principal, The Asia Group 

• Elina​​​​ Noor, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

• Mary Kay Magistad, former NPR correspondent in China and in Southeast Asia

• Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Indian Politics, School of Foreign Service & Department of Government, Georgetown University

Panel 4: Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy in the Trilateral (US, ROK, Japan) 

MODERATOR: Michaela Mattes, Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley

• Anka Lee, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia,  U.S. Department of Defense

• Kyoko Kuwahara, Research Fellow, Japan Institute of International Affairs, Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute 

• Lami Kim, Professor of Security Studies, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, U.S. Department of Defense

• Kimberly Peh, postdoctoral research fellow, Center for Global Security Research (CGSR), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

Panel 5: The End of the Pacific Century? A Moderated Discussion

• Penny Edwards, Director, Institute of East Asian Studies, Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley,  

• Susan D. Hyde, Co-Director, Institute of International Studies, Robson Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley 

• Daniel Sargent, Co-Director, Institute of International Studies, Associate Professor of History and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley