Professor Larry Diamond, author and adviser on foreign policy and democracy, will host a series of lecture and discussion events on Monday, April 28. A book signing and discussion will take place at 3 p.m. in the Gould Library Athenaeum and at 7:30 p.m. in the Boliou Hall Auditorium he will deliver a lecture entitled, “Can the Whole World Be Democratic?” Both events are free and the public is invited to attend.
In late 2003, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice personally asked Diamond to serve as a senior adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. Although he initially opposed the invasion of Iraq, Diamond supported the peace-building effort, deeming the reconstruction of Iraq America’s moral imperative. His novel, “Squandered Victory: The American Occupation and the Bungled Effort to Bring Democracy to Iraq” (Times Books, 2005), provides an insider’s examination of the avoidable mistakes made overseas on the part of President Bush and administrators of the CPA at the beginning of the war. Diamond’s newest book, “The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World” (Times Books, 2008), looks broadly at the driving forces behind democratic movements and the conditions necessary to sustain their expansion. Diamond has published several other books on his experiences with democratization and foreign policy.
Diamond currently teaches political science and sociology at Stanford University. In 2007, the Associated Students of Stanford University named him “Teacher of the Year” for teaching that “transcends political and ideological barriers.” He was also honored with Stanford’s Dinkelspiel Award for “his inspired teaching and commitment to undergraduate education” and “for the example he sets as a scholar and public intellectual.” In addition to his scholarly work, Diamond continues his involvement with foreign policy in Iraq and the Middle East, while coordinating the Hoover Institution’s Iran Democracy Project with Abbas Milani and Michael McFaul. He is also the founding coeditor of the “Journal of Democracy” and co-director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies of the National Endowment for Democracy. Diamond has also served as an advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the State Department, among other governmental organizations.
This event is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the College. For more information on the lecture or disability accommodations, contact Beverly Nagel at (507) 222-4301.
