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Top-Level Officials Gather for Aspen Strategy Group Meeting

August 6, 2013

Aspen Strategy Group’s annual summer meeting  — held in Aspen, CO, from August 6 to 10 this year — is a closed-door workshop that assembles ASG members and invited participants, including members of Congress, former government officials, business leaders, members of academia, and the media.

The various ideas and conclusions that stem from each meeting are published in the form of a policy book, made available to the general public by the Aspen Institute Press and the Brookings Institution Press.

Past meetings have focused on themes such as cybersecurity, American strategy in South Asia, the global politics of energy, and the threat posed by nuclear proliferation.

Below are summaries of the reports from the last three years.

The Arab Revolutions and American Policy 

Under the title “The Arab Revolutions and American Policy,” the Aspen Strategy Group’s 2012 Summer Workshop explored the many strategic, political and economic challenges confronting the United States in a region reborn. From August 4-7, the group examined and debated the impact of the Arab revolutions on US interests in the Middle East, with a special focus on key issues such as: the critical period of transition in Egypt; escalating violence and options of intervention in Syria; the threats associated with a nuclear Iran; the importance of formulating an effective strategy to deal with immediate economic assistance and long-term investment in the region; and the Obama administration’s successes and failures during the overall process of democratization. Purchase the publication from this meeting.

 

Securing Cyberspace: A New Domain for National Security 

The array of dangers from cyberspace — cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and  cyberespionage — have become as difficult and complex a set of national security challenges as the United States and other democratic countries have faced in the last generation. The members of the Aspen Strategy Group met over five days in early August 2011 in Aspen, Colorado to examine the many dimensions of cyberspace. Purchase the publication from this meeting.

 

 

American Interests in South Asia: Building a Grand Strategy in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India 

From August 6 to 11, 2010, the ASG met to assess the interconnected foreign policy, economic, and development challenges in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.  The increasing fragility of the Afghan Government, the escalating instability in Pakistan, and India’s growing influence in the region have arguably positioned South Asia as one of the most volatile regions in the world. The discussion focused on the history of the region, sources of tension, the challenges in Afghanistan, American foreign assistance in Afghanistan and Pakistan, India-Pakistan relations, and the overall security and development challenges the US faces in the region. Purchase the publication from this meeting.

Purchase all of the publications on our website.