Liebert World Affairs Lecture Series

Bringing the World to Campus

Established in 2016 and hosted by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, the Liebert World Affairs Lecture Series brings world-class scholars offering new and different perspectives on world politics to campus. Students, faculty, staff and the Southwest Florida community have long enjoyed engaging lectures that stimulate the mind. 


2026 Liebert Speakers

 
 
     
speaker   speaker
     

Professor Vali Nasr

Johns Hopkins University

The United States and Iran:
Roots of the Conflict and What Comes Next

Saturday, March 14, 2026 • 5:30 pm

Edwards Hall, Rm. 112

Iran has for decades been one of the most significant foreign policy challenges facing The United States. What has driven Iran’s conflict with the West? What are the country's goals? Vali Nasr will discuss Iran’s political history to explain the actions and ambitions of the country’s leaders and outline the strategy that drives it actions on the world stage. 

Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins-SAIS. Between 2012 and 2019 he served as the Dean of the School, and between 2009 and 2011 as Senior Advisor to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Nasr is the author of several acclaimed books including, Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History; How Sanctions Work, Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare; The Dispensable Nation: American Foreign Policy in Retreat; The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam will Shape the Future; Democracy in Iran; as well as articles in scholarly journals and commentary in The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He is a member of Global Board of Trustees of Asia Society, the recipient of Carnegie Scholar Award, and the Frank Guggenheim, and MacArthur Foundation research fellowships. He was selected as Henry Alfred Kissinger Distinguished Scholar at Library of Congress for 2024-25.

Registration:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4CABAD22ABFDC07-61349907-theunited 

Professor Ho-fung Hung

Johns Hopkins University

The China Question:
Eight Centuries of Fantasy and Fear

Saturday, February 7, 2026 • 5:30 pm

Edwards Hall, Rm. 112

For centuries, Western scholars portrayed China either as a land of superior morality, economy, and governance or as a formidable country of pagans that posed a global threat to Western values. Idealized images of China were used to shame rulers for their incompetence, while China was demonized as an external threat to cover up domestic political failures. In the twentieth century, the geopolitics of global capitalism have facilitated more nuanced perspectives, but the diversifying of knowledge about China is far from complete. In this thought-provoking study, Ho-fung Hung finds that both Western elites and China's authoritarian regime today continue to promote many Orientalist stereotypes to advance their economic interests and political projects. He shows how big-picture historical, social, and economic changes are inextricably linked to fluctuations in the realm of ideas. Only open debate can overcome extremes of fantasy and fear.

Ho-fung Hung is the Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor in Political Economy in the Department of Sociology and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of Protest with Chinese Characteristics (Columbia, 2011), The China Boom (Columbia, 2015), City on the Edge: Hong Kong under Chinese Rule (Cambridge, 2022), Clash of Empires: From “Chimerica” to the “New Cold War” (Cambridge, 2022), The China Question: Eight Centuries of Fantasy and Fear (Cambridge, 2026) and Greenback Empire: Global Dollar Dominance and the New Cold War (Chicago, 2026).  His academic publications have been translated into at least 12 different languages. His analysis of global and Chinese politics and economy has been cited or featured in major media outlets worldwide. He has served as an expert witness at the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China and has been consulted in closed-door meetings in think tank organizations and government bodies in Washington, London, Ottawa, and Canberra.

Registration:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4CABAD22ABFDC07-61349857-thechina

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The mission of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration is to contribute to effective policy-making and administration in the public sector, as well as to advance knowledge about government and politics at the local, state, national, and international levels. 

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World Affairs Lecture Series

Edwards Hall
10501 FGCU Boulevard South
Fort Myers, Florida 33965

(239) 590-7487