SOF Digital Discussion: The Changing Geopolitics of Energy in a Post-COVID World
Join us for an SOF Digital Discussion featuring Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide, Washington Post columnist, contributing editor for The Atlantic, and bestselling author; in conversation with Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. O’Sullivan will guide Zakaria through an exploration of what COVID-19’s impact on the rapidly evolving energy landscape means for shifting global political dynamics.
*If you are not currently a Society of Fellows member, and are interested in joining, please contact the SOF team at sof@aspeninstitute.org or 970-544-7980.
Presenters:
Fareed Zakaria hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide and is a columnist for The Washington Post, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, and a bestselling author.
Fareed Zakaria GPS is a weekly international and domestic affairs program that airs on CNN/U.S. and around the world on CNN International. Since its debut in 2008, it has become a prominent television forum for global newsmakers and thought leaders. Interviews on Fareed Zakaria GPS have included U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Other past guests include military officials such as Gen. David Petraeus and Adm. Michael Mullen; corporate leaders such as Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi; and other public figures like Bill Maher and Bono. The program earned the prestigious Peabody Award in 2011 and an Emmy® Award nomination in 2013.
Zakaria has regularly hosted primetime specials for CNN Worldwide, such as “Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World,” “Why Trump Won,” and “Putin: The Most Powerful Man in the World.” He frequently contributes his thoughtful analysis of world events and public affairs to CNN.com; Fareed’s Global Briefing, a daily digital newsletter; and other programming across CNN’s multiple platforms.
Zakaria is the author of three highly-regarded and New York Times bestselling books: “In Defense of a Liberal Education (2015),” a commentary on the importance of a well-rounded education; the international bestselling “The Post-American World (1st ed. 2008, 2nd ed. 2011),” a discussion of the rise of non-Western powers; and “The Future of Freedom (2003),” a study of “illiberal democracy” in various countries, also an international bestseller.
Prior to his tenure at CNN Worldwide, Zakaria was editor of Newsweek International, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a columnist for Time, an analyst for ABC News, and the host of Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria on PBS.
In 2017, Zakaria was awarded the Arthur Ross Media Award by the American Academy of Diplomacy. He was named a “Top 10 Global Thinker of the Last 10 Years” by Foreign Policy magazine in 2019, and Esquire once called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”
Zakaria serves on the boards of the Council of Foreign Relations and New America. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a doctorate in political science from Harvard University, and has received numerous honorary degrees.
Meghan O’Sullivan is the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She is also the Chair of the North American Group of the Trilateral Commission. She is an award-winning author and her third book, Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power, was published in 2017. Dr. O’Sullivan has extensive experience in policy formulation and in negotiation, including serving as special assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan. She is on the board of Raytheon Technologies and the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is also a member of the International Advisory Group for the British law firm, Linklaters, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, a consultant to energy companies, and a senior advisor at WestExec Advisors. She is a trustee of the German Marshall Fund and the International Crisis Group, and serves on the board of The Mission Continues, a veterans organization. Dr. O’Sullivan was awarded the Defense Department’s highest honor for civilians and, three times, the State Department’s Superior Honor Award. She was a Luce Scholar in Indonesia and a Henry Crown Fellow. She has a B.A. from Georgetown University and a masters and doctorate from Oxford University.