Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat will speak at Easton’s Temple B’nai Israel—The Satell Center for Jewish Life on the Eastern Shore–on September 8 to discuss his book, “The Art of Diplomacy: How American Negotiators Reached Historic Agreements that Changed the World,” recalling America’s most significant and consequential negotiations over the past fifty years. These include efforts to resolve conflicts from the Middle East peace process to “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, and lingering issues of World War II, from the reunification of Germany to justice for Holocaust survivors. Eizenstat addresses the use of American military force as an instrument of diplomacy, from Vietnam to the Balkan Wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, drawing lessons that are applicable to today’s conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Eizenstat, a former top White House aide, U.S. ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury who has served in six presidential administrations, played a leading role himself in several of these negotiations, and he has also personally interviewed more than 125 U.S. and international leaders, including some of the greatest practitioners of the art of diplomacy. In this way he provides a 360-degree view of international negotiations at the highest level, seen through the eyes of those officials most directly involved. Eizenstat brings to life the personalities, issues, obstacles, and dramatic breakthroughs that have created the world we live in today. He shows how the United States has been the indispensable leader: sometimes as a direct negotiator seeking a desired outcome; sometimes as a mediator between contesting parties; sometimes wielding military force to achieve a political goal; and sometimes as an advocate for global cooperation on issues like international trade and climate change.
According to Eizenstat, “At a time of global turmoil and conflict, when America’s influence is being challenged by a number of emerging powers, I believe it is important to impart what I have learned in my government experience, in order to help the United States use diplomacy to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.“ He will further expand upon his belief of the importance of wisely strengthening America’s military capabilities to achieve diplomatic agreements.
Everyone is welcome to this free program. It begins at 1 PM this Sunday, September 8, at Temple B’nai Israel in Easton, 7199 Tristan Drive. Registration is required by September 7 at: bnaiisraeleaston.org/event/ambassador
