“American Diplomacy and Global Disorder: The Middle East, Europe, and What Comes Next” — Ambassador Robert Pearson

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The Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy (TFED), in partnership with the Carolina Forum for Education and Diplomacy (CFED) and UNC Global Affairs, is delighted to welcome back Ambassador Robert “Bob” Pearson for a special on-campus address at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As we bring the semester to a close, Ambassador Pearson will offer a timely and wide-ranging perspective on one of the central questions of our moment:

Drawing on a distinguished career that includes service as:
• U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
• Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service
• Deputy Chief of Mission in Paris
• Senior roles at NATO and across Europe, Asia, and Washington

Ambassador Pearson will reflect on:
U.S. diplomacy and strategic challenges in the Middle East (including Iran)
The future of Europe and the transatlantic partnership
️ NATO, alliance cohesion, and shifting security commitments
⚖️ The erosion—and possible renewal—of global norms and institutions
What comes next for American leadership in a changing world

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Time: 5:15–6:00 PM ET
Location: FedEx Global Education Center (Second-Floor Conference Room, UNC Chapel Hill)
UNC Students: CLE credit available
Pizza and informal conversation to follow

This event serves as a fitting close to the semester in PWAD/CMPL 489: Epic, Empire, and Diplomacy—a course that brings students into conversation not only with foundational texts and ancient empires, but also with practitioners of diplomacy whose experience helps illuminate how the past continues to shape the present.

Earlier the same day, we will hear from classicist David Stuttard on Homeric epic—making for a rare and rewarding “double header” that bridges the ancient and the contemporary, the literary and the geopolitical.

Learn more: https://tfed.ngo

#Diplomacy #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #NATO #TransatlanticRelations #UNC #TFED #CFED