Your passport to global affairs

2026

November 2: “From Hormuz to Damascus”

Speaker: Andrew J Tabler is Martin J. Gross, Senior Fellow on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute where he focuses on how the energy crisis is remaking and reshaping alliances across the Middle East, a region that he has studied for three decades.

November 16: “Today's NATO”

Speaker: Ivo H. Daalder, American Diplomat and Foreign Policy Expert, he served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO from 2009-2013 and is a Senior Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center where he is a commentator on International Affairs and the future of European Security.

December 7: “Kennedy’s Only Hero”

Speaker: Joel Nelson is a British author and Historian, and an Assistant Editor at “Foreign Affairs.“ A former Kennedy Scholar he will present his book, “Kennedy’s Only Hero," JFK’s obsession with Winston Churchill and the Anglo-American relationship.

2027

January 11: “The Future of Russian Power”

Speaker: Eugene Rumer, Senior Fellow and Director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discussing Threat Perceptions, Military Reconstitutions and Economic Constraints.

January 25: “A Rupture of the International Order”

Speaker: Thomas Wright, Senior Fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center at the Brookings Institution. He most recently served as special assistant and senior director at the National Security Council in the Biden administration, working on European security and U.S.-China relations before returning to Brookings.

February 8: “China and Tawiwan”

"China": Jamie P. Horsley, Research Scholar at the Macmillan Center, Senior Fellow of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School

“Taiwan”: Ryan Haas, Director and Senior Fellow of the John L. Thornton China Center and Cecelia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies, The Brookings Institution

February 22. Speaker invited, to be announced

March 8: "The Art of Intelligence" 

Speaker: John Brennan American former intelligence officer and ex-Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

March 22: "Divergent Paths: The World's Economies Amidst Fraying Consensus" 

Speaker: Daniel Alpert, Executive Chairman, Westwood Capital Management, and Members of the International Club of Business Economists.

April 5

Speaker: U.S. retired Ambassador Barbara J. Stephenson, Vice Provost for Global Affairs at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is Chairman of World Affairs Council of America.

2026 Lectures Brought Global Issues to Life

The 2025–2026 lecture season was a resounding success, offering members a rich and timely exploration of the forces shaping our world through the voices of leading experts and statesmen. 

From Barbara Slavin’s clear eyed analysis of Iran and Ambassador William Taylor’s sobering update on Russia’s war against Ukraine, to Edward Luce’s deep dive into Cold War strategy through the life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, each program brought global issues vividly to life.

The season also looked forward, with discussions on U.S. defense strategy by Michael O’Hanlon, the strategic future of the Arctic with Louis Mead Treadwell, advances in Chinese military technology presented by Tim Ditter, and a wide‑ranging national security conversation led by Ambassador Douglas Lute. 

Together, these lectures sparked thoughtful dialogue, deepened understanding, and reaffirmed the organization’s mission to engage our community with informed, insightful perspectives on international affairs.

Tim Ditter presented updates on
the military use of drones.

2025-2026 Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series

The Naples Council on World Affairs is pleased to present its "crown jewel," the 2025-2026 Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series. 

Our Enduring Global Crises

2025 - 2026 Lectures and Programs
3:45 and 7:30 pm *

Archived videos of the lectures are available for members to view. Click here:

November 3, 2025: “Conflict: Iran”, Distinguished Fellow Barbara Slavin of the Stimson Center in Washington.

November 17, 2025: Edward Luce, National Editor of the Financial Times, Author of "ZBIG", a Cold War biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski.

December 8, 2025: "Russia's War on Ukraine: an Update. Ambassador William Taylor [U.S. Ambassador ret. Ukraine]: Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.

January 12, 2026: "The Middle East at a Hinge Moment".  Mona Yacoubian, Senior Advisor and Director, Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and international Studies.

* January 26, 2026: One session at 4:30 pm. “Impacting the Global Economy”. Daniel Alpert, The International Club of Business Economics, and distinguished panelists. Followed by social mixer with panelists for members of President's Club.

February 9, 2026: “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategies Since the Revolution, and Lessons for Today”. Michael E. O’Hanlon, Brookings Institution.

February 23, 2026: "High Latitudes and High Stakes: Economics, Environment and Security in an Accessible Arctic". Louis Mead Treadwell, 11th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and Former Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission

March 9, 2026: “Diplomacy and Negotiation: Cuba and Latin America”.  Prof. Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer, Boston University.

March 23, 2026: . “Advances in Chinese Military and Uncrewed Technology”. Tim Ditter, Senior Research Scientist, U.S. Center for Naval Analyses. 

April 7, 2026, TUESDAY: "A Global National Security Conversation". Ambassador Douglas Lute (usa ret.), assistant to President Bush and National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan 

The lectures are live-streamed via Zoom at the time of the lecture, as well as made available as archived recordings accessed through our website soon after the event. Emailed announcements will provide details for access of each lecture.

The afternoon lecture begins at 3:45 pm and the evening lecture at 7:30 pm. Membership cards were mailed in October. Please check your card for the lecture time that you requested when you enrolled. If you did not receive your card in the mail, please check in at the lecture welcome desk at any lecture or email our membership chair, Judi Lipnick, at NCWAmembership@gmail.com.  If you became a member after the cards were mailed, please check in at the table at the entrance to the lecture hall for a card to be issued to you.

Note: Speakers and/or topics may be adjusted to reflect the most current international developments as the season unfolds. Any changes will be announced via email, the NCWA newsletter and via the website.

                                                                           ~ Mimi Gregory, Vice President for Programs