Over the next several years, The American Assembly will

identify emerging leaders and bring them together at meetings

across the country. The Assembly will combine its time-tested
process with new approaches that will generate fresh ideas about
U.S. global policy and the future of international institutions;
influence discussions about the future of Americas role in the
world; and cultivate new policy networks.
The Next Generation Project is premised on the belief that
new voices and fresh ideas will strengthen the nations discussion
of U.S. global policy and the future of international institutions.
The American Assemblys Next Generation Project will unfold
in three stages from October 2006 through June 2008. Stage
One will consider the future global opportunities and threats
faced by the United States and the world. Stage Two will explore
whether current international institutions will be effective in
meeting the global challenges identified in Stage One. Stage
Three will be a national meeting in Washington, D.C. in June
2008, cosponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars. The meeting will convene during the run-
up to the presidential election and will offer policy
recommendations for the future.
The years following the end of the Cold War generated profound
questions about the nature of the international system and
Americas role in it. Finding answers to these fundamental
questions has taken on a new urgency in the wake of the
September 11
th
attacks and the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The
terrorist attacks and the social, economic, and political forces
that gave rise to them underscore the need for new ideas and
fresh thinking about the challenges that America and the world
face, and the institutions in place to confront them.
The institutions created by the United States and its partners
in the middle of the last century, have in many cases, been found
wanting. Domestically, U.S. intelligence agencies, cabinet
departments, the military, the White House, and Congress have
all been criticized for their inability to craft effective, timely
policies. Instead of trying to shape the world to advance U.S.
interests, foreign policy making has appeared reactive and
focused on the short-term. Furthermore, many Americans have
lost confidence in the multilateral and international institutions
created in the years following the Second World War. Despite
efforts to make these venerable institutions more timely and
relevant, there is a growing sense that many of these
organizations, from the United Nations to the Bretton Woods
institutions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
are not prepared to meet the complex challenges the United
States and the world face in an age of globalization.
The United States finds itself at a crossroads in its international
relations. The continuing sharp and partisan disagreements over
the new global environment highlight the need for reflective,
thoughtful, civil debate about U.S. foreign policy and the
international system in the 21
st
century. Where will the new
ideas come from?
The complexity and importance of these issues demand new
perspectives. The Assembly believes that the next generation of
American leaders who will inherit and have to work with U.S.
and international institutions should be fully included in any
assessment of future U.S. global policy needs and frameworks.
With this in mind, The American Assembly hopes to inspire
fresh ideas from unexpected sources.
THE NEXT GENERATION PROJECT SEEKS TO:
GENERATE NEW IDEAS ABOUT U.S. GLOBAL
POLICY AND THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
INFLUENCE POLICY DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE
FUTURE OF AMERICAS ROLE IN THE WORLD
CULTIVATE NEW POLICY NETWORKS
The Next Generation Project will seek geographic diversity, both
among its fellows and its cosponsors. In the past thirty years,
the United States has been undergoing an economic and
demographic shift, which has resulted in the political center of
gravity moving away from the traditional corridors of power in
the Northeast towards the rest of the country. The American
Assembly will partner with organizations beyond the Northeast
corridor to gather ideas from different regions of the country.
The American Assembly will identify and engage the next
generation of talented professionals, the successful women and
men in their thirties and forties who will be responsible for
ensuring the security and prosperity of the United States and
the world in the years to come. The Next Generation Project
Fellows will be drawn from professional and demographic sectors
that have traditionally been underrepresented in foreign policy
discussions. They will interact with former and current
policymakers, who will include members of the project's Senior
Advisory Council and Steering Committee.
FRANCIS J. GAVIN
Project Director
Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Rostow
Fellow, Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public
Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin; Director
of Studies, Robert S. Strauss Center for International
Security and Law
Francis J. Gavin joined the LBJ School faculty in
the fall of 2000. He was previously an Olin
National Security Fellow at Harvard Universitys
Center for International Affairs and an International Security Fellow at
Harvards Kennedy School of Government. He directed the Presidency
and Economic Policy Project at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the
University of Virginia. A historian by training, his teaching and research
interests focus on U.S. foreign policy, national security affairs, nuclear
strategy and arms control, presidential policymaking, and the history of
international monetary relations. Dr. Gavin received a Ph.D. and M.A. in
Diplomatic History from the University of Pennsylvania, a MSt. in Modern
European History from Oxford, and a B.A. in Political Science (with
honors) from the University of Chicago. His publications include numerous
scholarly articles, book reviews and editorials. Dr. Gavin has won several
prestigious awards and honors, including the 2002-2003 Smith Richardson
Junior Faculty fellowship in International Security and Foreign Policy and
the 2003-2004 Donald D. Harrington Faculty Fellowship at the University
of Texas. Dr. Gavin has also helped create the new Robert S. Strauss Center
for International Security and Law at the University of Texas, where he is
the Director of Studies.
February 2007 - San Diego, CA
Cosponsor: Institute on Global
Conflict and Cooperation,
University of California, San Diego
Spring 2008 - Southeast Region
Fall 2007 - Evanston, IL
Cosponsor: Center for International and Comparative Studies
Northwestern University
Stage Two
Stage One
Stage Three
THE NEXT GENERATION PROJECT:
U.S. GLOBAL POLICY AND THE FUTURE OF
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
October 2006 - Dallas, TX
Cosponsor: John G. Tower
Center for Political Studies,
Southern Methodist University
Late Winter 2008 - Northern West Coast Region
Spring 2007 - Denver, CO
Cosponsor: Graduate School of
International Studies,
University of Denver
National Assembly
Summer 2008 - Washington, DC
Cosponsor: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Launch
June 2006 - Austin, TX
Cosponsor: Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law
University of Texas at Austin
NEXT GENERATION ASSEMBLIES
FRANCIS J. GAVIN
Project Director
RICHARD W. FISHER
Senior Project Advisor
LISA ANDERSON
PHILIP C. BOBBITT
ARTHUR J. BURKE
DANIEL BYMAN
AMY L. CHUA
PETER F. COWHEY
TOM J. FARER
BETTY SUE FLOWERS
AARON L. FRIEDBERG
JAMES F. HOLLIFIELD
AARON LOBEL
MARK MCKINNON
STEPHEN P. ROSEN
SCOTT D. SAGAN
HOWARD SHELANSKI
ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER
ASHLEY J. TELLIS
JUSTIN VAISSE
ANDREW B. WACHTEL
STEVEN WEBER
AMY B. ZEGART
WILLIAM R. ARCHER, JR.
COIT D. BLACKER
ALBERT CARNESALE
WARREN CHRISTOPHER
WILLIAM T. COLEMAN, JR.
DIANA FARRELL
THOMAS S. FOLEY
LEE H. HAMILTON
CARLA A. HILLS
RICHARD M. HUNT
JAMES C. LANGDON
RICHARD G. LUGAR
JOSEPH S. NYE
WILLIAM POWERS, JR.
JEFFREY D. SACHS
BRENT SCOWCROFT
DONNA SHALALA
PAUL A. VOLCKER
STEERING
COMMITTEE
The American Assembly, founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
in 1950, is affiliated with Columbia University. The Assembly
is a national, nonpartisan public affairs forum that illuminates
issues of public policy by commissioning research and
publications, sponsoring meetings, and issuing reports, books,
and other literature. Its projects bring together leading
authorities representing a broad spectrum of views and interests.
Assembl y reports and other publications are used by
government, community and civic leaders and public officials.
American Assembly topics cover domestic and foreign policy,
and issues that include arts and culture, philanthropy, health,
business, economy, education, law, race, religion, and security.
Pictured (L to R) Steering Committee Chairman, Andrew P.N. Erdmann;
Project Director, Francis J. Gavin; and Advisory Council Chairman,
Admiral B.R. Inman
February 17, 2006 Steering Committee Meeting, New York
ADM. B.R. INMAN
Chairman
LEE C. BOLLINGER
BRADLEY CURREY, JR.
DAVID R. GERGEN
B.R. INMAN
JOHN F. McGILLICUDDY
DONALD F. McHENRY
DAVID H. MORTIMER
RAYMOND D. NASHER
PAUL A. VOLCKER
FRANK A. WEIL
CLIFTON R. WHARTON, JR.
ALICE YOUNG
SENIOR ADVISORY
COUNCIL
ANDREW P.N.ERDMANN
Chairman
www.nextgenerationproject.org
THE NEXT GENERATION PROJECT
TAA 060106
CHARLES BENTON
TRUSTEES
GENERATION
P R O J E C T NE XT
THE
&
U.S. GLOBAL POLICY
INSTITUTIONS
THE
OF
international
FUTURE
STEPHEN STAMAS
THE AMERICAN ASSEMBLY
THE AMERICAN ASSEMBLY
Columbia University
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 456
New York, NY 10115
TEL: (212)870-3500
FAX: (212)870-3555
www.americanassembly.org
DAVID H. MORTIMER, Chief Operating Officer
ROCHELLE S. POLLOCK, Associate Director
KARLA GARCIA, Financial Associate
TERRY ROETHLEIN, Program Coordinator
MARK LENEKER, Program Coordinator
STAFF
MEGAN WYNNE, Program Coordinator
Chairman