Denver Dialogues

This special edition dialogue was convened in partnership with and as part of the Aspen Security Forum, the premier national security and foreign policy conference in the United States.

Our expert panelists discussed the global democracy agenda, providing unique perspectives on the state of democracy around the world. Is the global democracy picture moving in the right direction? What are the underlying forces driving democratic erosion? What is the U.S. best placed to do about it? How critical is fixing our own house to any potential foreign policy strategies? We interrogated these questions and more in this special session.

Panelists:

• María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, El Salvador
• Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Stanford University
• Jane Harman, Former Congresswoman, Chair of Freedom House and Commission on the National Defense Strategy
• Mariano-Florentino 'Cuéllar, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Matthew Kaminski, Editor-in-Chief, POLITICO

This dialogue focused on immigration policy in the United States. Although there is broad agreement across party lines in the U.S. that our immigration system is not working, a bipartisan approach has eluded us in a broader context of political polarization. Our panelists shared their thoughts on the nature of the challenges associated with immigration policy and potential pathways forward.

Panelists:

• Theresa Cardinal Brown, Senior Advisor, Immigration and Border Policy, Bipartisan Policy Center

• Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director, The Immigration Hub

• Timothy Kane, Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution

The Korbel School and the Scrivner Institute of Public Policy convened the first Denver Dialogues event on October 4th. The event brought together the leaders of our four partner organizations - Condoleezza Rice (Hoover), Anne-Marie Slaughter (New America), Dan Porterfield (Aspen), and Robert Doar (AEI) - to discuss the importance of civil discourse for a healthy democracy and the role of think tanks and universities in fostering robust and evidence-based civic dialogue on issues that divide us as a society.