Tuesday, March 22 | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm ET
Format: Hybrid In Person and Virtual Event
In person: Elliott School of International Affairs
The Lindner Family Commons,
Room 602
1957 E St NW, Washington DC 20052
Virtual: via Zoom
We were pleased to invite you to a joint Elliott School Book Launch Series and IIEP Policy Forum at GW featuring Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and current President and CEO of the Asia Society, on his new book, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping’s China. Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres provided welcome remarks. Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, International Affairs, and Political Science David Shambaugh engaged with the Hon. Kevin Rudd in conversation, and there was a lengthy moderated Q&A. Books were available for purchase and signing after the end of the event.
About The Speaker
Kevin Rudd is a former Prime Minister of Australia and current President and CEO of the Asia Society. He became President and CEO of Asia Society in January 2021 and has been president of the Asia Society Policy Institute since January 2015. He served as Australia’s 26th Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010, then as Foreign Minister from 2010 to 2012, before returning as Prime Minister in 2013. He is also a leading international authority on China. He began his career as a China scholar, serving as an Australian diplomat in Beijing before entering Australian politics.
About The Moderator
David Shambaugh is an internationally recognized authority and award-winning author on contemporary China and the international relations of Asia. He currently is the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs, and the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He was also a formerly a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution and Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Introductory Remarks
Alyssa Ayres is the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Before joining the Elliott School, she was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia under the Obama administration. She holds a Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.
