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Keren Keshet Israel Program on Constitutional Government
The Israel Program on Constitutional Government is directed by Peter Berkowitz. and is implemented under the auspices of Keren Keshet (The Rainbow Foundation), in collaboration with the Hartog School of Government and Policy at Tel Aviv University. Its principal purpose is to stimulate discussion about the theory and practice of liberal democracy. Four times a year, it brings outstanding scholars and journalists from the United States to Israel to share their work with a diverse group of faculty, students, jurists, lawyers, journalists, and government and security officials.
A profile of each speaker and a copy of the lectures given can be found below
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2008 Program
In 2008 our seminars focused on questions of national security, law, and constitutional government. In January the program hosted
Michael O'Hanlon
, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution
. Michael examined the effects of America's surge in Iraq and the implications for campaign 2008 and for the next president.
March saw us hosting Columbia University law professor
Matt Waxman
who explored issues connected to the laws of detention. Over the last seven years, Matt as served on the National Security Council, in the Defense Department with responsibility for detainee affairs, and in the State Department as Principal Deputy Director of the Policy Planning Staff.
Our April seminar featured attorney
David Rivkin
. He discussed the interaction between American constitutional law and international law in the field of national security. David served in the Justice Department under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and is a frequent author, particularly in the Wall Street Journal, on issues related to national security and law.
Last May featured Harvard Law School Professor
Jack Goldsmith
. Former head of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice during in the Bush administration, Professor Goldsmith will discuss the improvement of mechanisms for achieving executive accountability in the war on terror.
2007 Program
Our broad theme for 2007 was National Security and Constitutional Government. The first guest, on January 25, 2007, was R. James Woolsey, former head of the CIA under President Bill Clinton and now a Vice President at Booz Allen. He discussed America ’s national security interests in achieving energy independence.
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy - Energy Independence Testimony of R. James Woolsey
Wall Street Journal - Gentlemen, Start Your Plug-Ins - R. James Woolsey
On March 11, the program hosted Kori Schake, Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies at West Point and a Hoover Institution fellow. Professor Schake examined the limits of current American grand strategy, and how alternative approaches, better suited to American political culture and government structure, may produce more effective international engagement.
On April 15, Benjamin Wittes, a member of the editorial page at the Washington Post, was the program’s guest. He explored the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions concerning the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of enemy combatants.
On May 20, the program hosted Aaron Friedberg, professor of politics at Princeton University , and former national security advisor to Vice President Cheney. Professor Friedberg discussed how constitutional constraints on the exercise of American power affect America ’s ability to deal with current national security threats.
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2006 Program Review
Our broad theme for 2006 was constitutional design. Our first guest, on January 26, was Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. His topic was democracy and judicial review.
On February 26, the program hosted Donald Horowitz, Professor of Law and Political Science at Duke University. An expert on comparative constitutional government, Professor Horowitz discussed how electoral schemes can reduce ethnic conflict.
Electoral Systems - A primer for decsionmakers by Donald Horowitz
On March 26, the program featured Larry Diamond, Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. A specialist on democratic development and regime change, he presented a paper on the varieties of democratic constitution.
On May 7, our final guest for 2006 was David Brady, Professor of Political Science and Business at Stanford University and Hoover Institution Deputy Director. An expert on the US Congress, Professor Brady discussed the sources of polarization that now afflict both House and Senate.
Polarization Then and Now: A Historical Perspective by David Brady
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2005 Program Review
The IPCG’s broad theme for 2005 was Democracy, Democratization, and the Rule of Law.
On January 16 the program hosted a seminar at Tel Aviv University given by Professor Ruth Wedgwood of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. A prominent human rights lawyer, she spoke about American democracy and the changing nature of the laws of war.
Click here for a copy of Ruth Wedgewood`s presentation
On March 6, the program featured William Kristol, editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard. In addition to delivering a lunch-time lecture on American foreign policy since 9/11, with special emphasis on Iraq, democratization, and the Middle East, Mr. Kristol participated in a thrilling debate on national interest and global responsibility. Additional discussants were Itamar Rabinowitz, Yossi Shain, Dov Weissglas, and Peter Berkowitz.
On April 3 the program’s guest speaker was US News and World Report senior correspondent Linda Robinson. The topic of her presentation was the role played by American special operations forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Click here for a excerpts from "Masters of Chaos": Chapter 13
Click here for a excerpts from "Masters of Chaos": Chapter 16
The final seminar of the year, on May 15, was given by Professor Michael McFaul of Stanford University, a specialist in Russia and democratization. Prof. McFaul discussed the history of America's efforts to promote democracy outside the Middle East, and considered some implications for efforts underway in the Middle East.
Click here for a copy of Michael McFaul`s presentation
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2004 Program Review
The IPCG’s broad theme for 2004 was the transformation of American foreign policy.
In February, Seth Waxman, former Attorney General during the Clinton administration, spoke about how the war on terror by the Bush administration was affecting the American legal system.
In March, Professor Francis Fukuyama discussed US national security and the Bush Doctrine. In addition, Professor Fukuyama participated in an evening dedicated to a review of his famous essay, “The End of History?”, 15 years after its writing. Keynote addresses were delivered by Professor Fukuyama, former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and Israel’s then-Minister of Finance, Benjamin Netanyahu. The event was attended by over 1,000 staff, students, foreign dignitaries and members of the public.
In May, Mr. Tod Lindberg editor of Policy Review and research fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, spoke about the liberal roots and purposes of neo-conservatism in America.
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OUR SPEAKERS: PAST AND PRESENT
Prof. David Brady - Professor of Political Science and Business, Stanford University and Hoover Institution Deputy Director.
Larry Diamond - Professor of Political Science, Stanford University and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Prof. Aaron Friedberg - Professor of Politics, Princeton University.
Prof. Francis Fukuyama - Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy
Director, International Development Program, John Hopkins University.
Donald Horowitz - Professor of Law and Political Science, Duke University.
Dr. William Kristol - Editor of The Weekly Standard.
Tod Lindberg - Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Editor of "Policy Review".
Prof. Michael McFaul - Professor Political Science at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.
Linda Robinson - US News and World Report Senior Correspondent.
Justice Antonin Scalia - Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Dr. Kori Schake - Bradley Distinguished Professor of International Security Studies, West Point and a Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Seth P. Waxman - 41st Solicitor General of the United States.
Prof. Ruth Wedgwood - Edward B. Burling Professor of International Law and Diplomacy; Director of the International Law and Organization Program, John Hopkins University.
Benjamin Wittes - Member of the Editorial Page at the Washington Post.
R. James Woolsey - Former Head of the CIA and a Hurrent Vice President at Booz Allen.
William Kristol holds a PhD in political science from Harvard University. He is the editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard. He served as chairman of the Project for the Republican Future from 1993 to 1994 and worked at the White House as chief of staff to the vice president from 1985 to 1988. He taught at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University from 1983 to 1985, and at the University of Pennsylvania from 1978 to 1983. Kristol serves on the board of trustees of the Manhattan Institute and the Shalem Foundation, and is director of the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.
Tod Lindberg is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the editor of Policy Review, a Washington-based journal of essays, social criticism, and reviews on politics, government, and foreign and domestic policy. He has edited the editorial page of the Washington Times, which, under his tenure, was deemed by New York Magazine to be one of the "top eight opinion factories" in the United Sates.
Click here for a copy of Tod Lindberg`s Presentation
Michael McFaul is a Professor Political Science at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution. A specialist in Russia and democratization, his current research interests include democratization in the post-communist world and Iran, American-Russian relations, and American efforts to promote democracy abroad. He is co-director of the Hoover Institution project on Iran.
Click here for a copy of Michael McFaul`s presentation
Linda Robinson is a US News and World Report senior correspondent. She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2000-2001, and in 1999 received the Maria Moors Cabot prize form Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She has covered numerous wars, guerrilla conflicts and special forces' operations, and currently lives in Washington, DC. Her recent book, Masters of Chaos, covers the history of the special forces in the American military. Linda was embedded with special operations troops in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
Click here for a excerpts from "Masters of Chaos": Chapter 13
Click here for a excerpts from "Masters of Chaos": Chapter 16
Seth P. Waxman was the 41st Attorney General of the United States, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton. Prior to his appointment, he served in other positions in the Department of Justice, including acting attorney general and acting deputy attorney general. He received his bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1973, and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1977. He is a fellow of the American Bar Association, a current and ex-officio member of several committees of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and an ex-officio member of the American Law Institute.
Ruth Wedgwood has been Professor of Law at Yale Law School since 1986. She is also Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at Johns Hopkins University. Wedgwood writes on international criminal law, the law of war, peacekeeping, post-conflict transitions, United Nations politics, and American constitutional law. She was appointed by US Secretary of Defense to be a member of the Defense Policy Board. She is also a member of the US Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on International Law, and was recently elected to e the United States expert on the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Click here for a copy of Ruth Wedgewood`s presentation
THE PROJECT COORDINATOR
Peter Berkowitz teaches at George Mason University School of Law and is the Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is co-founder and director of the Israel Program on Constitutional Government, has served as a senior consultant to the President’s Council on Bioethics, and is a member of the Policy Advisory Board at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He holds a JD and a PhD in political science from Yale University; an MA in philosophy from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and a BA in English literature from Swarthmore College. He is the author of two books and the editor of several publications, and has written on a variety of subjects.
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