International Cooperation in Responding to Crisis

On Wednesday, May 27 from 6-7 p.m. CT, the National WWI Museum and Memorial and the International Relations Council will present will present a conversation with experts on international cooperation in responding to crisis. Panelists will be Samuel Brannen of the Center for Strategic & International Studies and Dan Mahanty of the Center for Civilians in Conflict.

The breadth of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a coordinated global response, but it is far from the first, and surely won't be the last, situation to require international cooperation. What compels countries to support each other individually or collectively, and who determines what amounts to a crisis and the sort of response that is warranted? Our expert panel will discuss the reasons, strategies, and structures involved in international cooperation and their relevance to Covid-19 and future shared challenges.

About the Panelists

Sam Brannen leads the Risk and Foresight Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and is a senior fellow in the International Security Program. He has previously served as a long-range strategic planner and adviser to senior leaders in government and business. The newly established Risk and Foresight Group is charged with providing decision makers with insights into the forces of change reshaping the global environment, from shifting demographics to emerging technologies.

Brannen returned to CSIS in fall 2018 after spending four years as director of A.T. Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council, where he advised CEOs on the business implications of global macro-trends and conducted 5- to 10-year assessments of countries, sectors, and industries. Previously at CSIS, he was a senior fellow and led research on unmanned systems, shifting geopolitics, and defense strategic planning. Brannen also held multiple positions at the Pentagon, including advising on strategy and foresight issues and serving as country director for Turkey in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He holds a master’s degree in international affairs from the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Trinity University in Texas.

As the Director of CIVIC’s U.S. Program, Dan Mahanty engages U.S. policymakers to promote the adoption of policies and practices that enhance the protection of civilians in conflict, including through international security cooperation and assistance. Dan also helps raise awareness of CIVIC’s impact and accomplishments among government officials and other public constituencies in the United States. Prior to joining CIVIC, Dan spent 16 years at the U.S. Department of State. In 2012, he created and led the Office of Security and Human Rights in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In this role, he oversaw efforts to integrate human rights in U.S. security assistance and arms sales, advance the prevention of recruitment and use of child soldiers, and promote policies related to protecting civilians in conflict. As an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University, he also designed the course “Human Rights and U.S. National Security” for the Center for Security Studies, which he taught for three years with his wife, Kristen.

Dan holds a Masters from Georgetown in U.S. National Security Policy and a Bachelors in Economics from George Mason University. He is a Colin L. Powell Fellow, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Truman National Security Fellow, and served on the board of advisors for the NGO, “Women LEAD Nepal”. He is originally from Greeley, Colorado.