BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//PYVOBJECT//NONSGML Version 1//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:events.uid.976@www.discovernikkei.org DTSTART:20060621T000000Z DTEND:20060621T000000Z DESCRIPTION:PROF. FRANCIS FUKUYAMA TO SPEAK ON ‘NEOCONSERVATIVE\nLEGACY & THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY’ AT\nNATIONAL CENTER FOR PRESERVA TION OF DEMOCRACY JUNE 21\n\nLOS ANGELES.—Author and scholar Francis Fuk uyama\, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International St udies\, will speak on the subject\, “The Neoconservative Legacy and the Future of American Foreign Policy”\, on Wednesday\, June 21\, beginning at 7 p.m.\, at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (NCPD ) in the Democracy Forum. The program\, organized by Zócalo\, is free\, b ut reservations are requested by going to <a href="http://www.zocalola.org ">www.zocalola.org</a>.\n\nDr. Fukuyama\, who came to public prominence af ter the publication of his book\, <i>The End of History and the Last Man</ i> in 1992\, which was a best seller in the United States\, France\, Japan and Chile and appeared in 20 foreign editions\, has been the center of di scussion after his most recent work\, <i>America at the Crossroads: Democr acy\, Power and the Neoconservative Legacy</i>\, was released earlier this year. In this publication\, Dr. Fukuyama writes that because of "the perc eived failure of the Iraq intervention" and because neoconservatives "both inside and outside the Bush administration" are "widely credited (or blam ed)" for the policy\, the neoconservative legacy may be an American foreig n policy that tends more toward isolationism.\n\nThe controversy for Dr. F ukuyama is that he himself is most associated with the neoconservative mov ement and his criticism of the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq has resulted in his own vilification by many of his colleagues and from those on the political left\, who point out that Dr. Fukuyama had signed a lette r supporting the invasion. In a follow-up article in the Los Angeles Times on April 9\, 2006\, Dr. Fukuyama wrote\, "In our ever-more-polarized poli tical debate\, it appears that it is now wrong to ever change your mind\, even if empirical evidence from the real world suggests you ought to. I fi nd this a strange and disturbing conclusion."\n\nDr. Fukuyama further wrot e that he changed his view on supporting an invasion of Iraq before the wa r started when he realized that unilateral military force alone would not likely be successful in turning Iraq into a democracy. "I believe that the neoconservative movement\, with which I was associated\, has become indel ibly associated with a failed policy\, and that unilateralism and coercive regime change cannot be the basis for an effective American foreign polic y. I changed my mind as part of a necessary adjustment to reality."\n\nWha t Dr. Fukuyama now advocates is a "Realistic Wilsonianism" policy\, which he wrote about his book and will discuss at the program. "We need. . .to u nderstand that promoting democracy and modernization in the Middle East is not a solution to the problem of jihadist terrorism\; in all likelihood i t will make the short-term problem worse\, as we have seen in the case of the Palestinian election bringing Hamas to power. What is needed now are n ew ideas\, neither neoconservative nor realist\, for how America is to rel ate to the rest of the world--ideas that retain the neoconservative belief in the universality of human rights\, but without its illusions about the efficacy of American power and hegemony to bring these ends about."\n\nFr ancis Fukuyama is Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SA IS) of Johns Hopkins University\, and the director of SAIS' International Development program. He is also chairman of the editorial board of a new magazine\, <i>The American Interest</i>. Born in Chicago\, Dr. Fukuyama ea rned his B.A. degree from Cornell University in the classics and his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He has been employed by the RAND Corpo ration and the Department of State.\n\nZócalo presents a vibrant series o f programs that feature thinkers and doers speaking on some of the most pr essing topics of the day. Bringing together an extraordinarily diverse gro up of Angelenos\, Zócalo--"Public Square" in Spanish--seeks to create a n on-partisan and multiethnic forum where participants can enjoy a rare oppo rtunity for intellectual fellowship.\n\nThe National Center for the Preser vation of Democracy is an innovative educational institution that partners with classroom instructors and community-based mentors to inform young pe ople about the many individuals from all backgrounds who have shaped Ameri can democracy and to provide youth with the skills to become active partic ipants themselves. For more information\, go to <a href="http://www.ncdemo cracy.org">www.ncdemocracy.org</a>.\n DTSTAMP:20240418T105917Z SUMMARY:Dr. Francis Fukuyama to Speak at NCPD on Wednesday\, June 21\, 2006 URL:/en/events/2006/06/21/dr-francis-fukuyama-to-speak-at-ncpd-on-wednesday -/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR