IAF resumes expert-led programs on executive power, new space race, rights of nature, middle east peacebuilding and climate security
TRAVERSE CITY — The International Affairs Forum continues its 32nd season of programs addressing global issues and fostering vital public dialogue in northern Michigan. Upcoming events include:
- February 19 | Long Arm or Strongarm: Executive Power in Foreign Policy & At Home with Kori Schake, Ph.D., Senior Fellow & Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute. Schake is author of The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States (Polity Press 2025). She is also the author of Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony, and a contributing writer at the Atlantic, War on the Rocks, and Bloomberg. Event presented in partnership with Central Michigan University Hart-Milliken Speaker Series. Book sales provided by Bay Books.
- March 19 | The New Space Race: How Data, Resources, and Power Are Shaping Our Future
Presented by NMC students on the IAF Student Leadership Team. Speaker(s) to be announced. The students will lead an in-depth exploration of competition in space among governments and corporations, with implications for technology, law, environmental stewardship, and global cooperation. Event underwriter: Eleanor Lynn - April 15 | Rights of Nature: Global Movement, Local Values
Frank Bibeau & Hugo Echeverría on the Rights of Nature global conservation movement. Bibeau is Tribal Attorney & Director of Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights’ Tribal Rights of Nature Program and has led groundbreaking cases protecting manoomin (wild rice), among other precedent-setting legal conservation work. Echeverría, based in Quito, Ecuador, has worked in environmental law since 2001, with an emphasis on biodiversity conservation and the Rights of Nature. Event underwriter: Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. - April 19 | The Future is Peace -- A Conversation with Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon
Presented by the National Writers Series in partnership with the International Affairs Forum. Join authors Aziz Abu Sarah, Palestinian peacebuilder; and Maoz Inon, Israeli peace activist, the co-CEOs of InterAct. Abu Sarah and Inon are both directly impacted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. InterAct advances a hopeful vision of coexistence grounded in human connection and mutual understanding. Together they share a compelling story of reconciliation and hope drawn from personal loss and their work fostering peace across divides. - May | This event will be the inaugural Robert & Nancy Giles Press Freedom Lecture hosted by the International Affairs Forum. Speaker(s) to be announced. Subscribe here for IAF newsletter updates.
- June 11 | Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security with author Sherri Goodman, Secretary General, International Military Council on Climate & Security; Distinguished Fellow and Board Director, Atlantic Council; and former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. As climate change intensifies disasters and sharpens geopolitical competition—from the Arctic and Greenland to global conflict zones—it has become a defining national security challenge. Goodman’s Threat Multiplier explores how the U.S. military now treats a warming world as a force that amplifies every threat. Event underwriters: Harold & Pam Lassers. Book sales provided by Bay Books.
Event Details
Programs are open to the public and are ticketed events. Students and educators attend at no cost thanks to community support. Most programs start at 7 p.m. Eastern at the Dennos Museum Center Milliken Auditorium, 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City with a welcome reception at 6 p.m.
Events are presented in hybrid format; in-person events are available to livestream online. Programming continues throughout the academic year through June 2026. All IAF events on campus at NMC are free for students and educators, including all NMC employees and employees of all local schools. For event details and tickets, please visit tciaf.com
IAF’s educational programming at NMC is free for students and educators, and open to the public thanks to its supporting members, regional partners, business sponsors, and Northwestern Michigan College. Learn more about membership, event sponsorship, and opportunities to support here: tciaf.com/support
Release date: January 22, 2026
For more information:
Alexander Tank
Director
International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College
(231) 995-1844
atank@nmc.edu