Charles Kupchan

Charles Kupchan

Professor of International Affairs Georgetown University
Charles Kupchan

Dr. Kupchan is Professor of International Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2014 to 2017 Kupchan served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council in the Obama White House. He was also Director for European Affairs on the NSC during the first Clinton administration. Before joining the Clinton NSC, he worked in the U.S. Department of State on the Policy Planning Staff .Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He is the author of Bringing Order to Anarchy: Governing the World to Come(forthcoming, 2026), Anchoring the World: International Order in the Twenty-First Century (2021), Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself from the World (2020), No One’s World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn (2012), How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace (2010), The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-first Century (2002), Power in Transition: The Peaceful Change of International Order (2001), Civic Engagement in the Atlantic Community (1999), Atlantic Security: Contending Visions (1998),Nationalism and Nationalities in the New Europe (1995), The Vulnerability of Empire (1994), The Persian Gulf and the West (1987), and numerous articles on international and strategic affairs. Kupchan received a B.A. from Harvard University and M.Phil. and D.Phil.degrees from Oxford University. He has served as a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs, Columbia University’s Institute for War and Peace Studies, the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Centre d’Etude et de Recherches Internationales in Paris, and the Institute for International Policy Studies in Tokyo. During 2006-2007, he was the Henry A. Kissinger Scholar at the Library of Congress and was a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.During 2013-2014, he was a Senior Fellow at the Transatlantic Academy.

Agenda Day 1

8:50 AM KEYNOTE: EVERY MOVE MATTERS – NAVIGATING GEOPOLITICAL COMPLEXITY IN A WORLD IN TRANSITION

For General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officers, complexity isn’t just a challenge – it’s the board on which strategy is played and reshaped. The scope and pace of global change has created a volatile and uncertain environment where every move matters. Relations among states are in flux, political orders inside states are in transition, and technological advances are having far-reaching international and domestic effects. These tectonic shifts are producing both geopolitical and geoeconomic impacts, fueling great-power rivalry, disrupting markets and supply chains, and increasing commercial and financial uncertainty. This keynote, led by a leading geopolitical expert, will unpack the sources and consequences of this volatility, highlighting downside risks but also identifying opportunities for strategic advantage.
• Gain insight on the geopolitical and socioeconomic forces that are driving change and increasing uncertainty
• Learn how to identify and navigate geopolitical and geoeconomic trends in order to reduce risk and maximize opportunity
• Look over the horizon to develop strategic frameworks that will remain relevant even amid fast-moving geopolitical and commercial developments
• Understand how to evaluate the strategic and financial impact of shifting alliance relations, tariffs, targeted domestic investments, and other policy initiatives, so you can brief leadership and make informed decisions

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Charles.

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