In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. With heightened political tensions and an ongoing trade war, some experts argue that new ways of thinking about America’s relationship with China are necessary. Business leaders point out that we are deeply invested in China, such that n...

With the dream of the Oslo Accords long in the rear-view mirror and no prospect of an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians ahead, is it time to give up on the two-state solution?

In this new Aspen Ideas format, all attendees gather each morning to kick off the day by exploring a current issue of deep complexity. For decades, American policy regarding those who reach our borders has been the subject of intense political disagreement, reflecting economic realities and cultural divides. What would a policy look like that meets both our labor and se...

How fast can the world really move off hydrocarbons, and are we underestimating deep macroeconomic analyses of the energy transition in our policymaking? Two financiers delve into the complex dynamics surrounding the global shift toward more sustainable energy, including why Middle East economies that invest in renewable energy continue to depend on a robust oil trade, and...

The war in Ukraine has once again highlighted the importance of international alliances, and that is certainly evident on the African continent, where the world’s superpowers are actively engaged in a competition for support and resources. How will this contest play out, what are the stakes, and who stands to gain -- and lose?

As Israel marks its 75th birthday, the existential challenges it faces don’t only come from geopolitical vulnerabilities. How will the Jewish state confront internal divisions and divergent opinions about threats to its democratic institutions?

Hostage-taking presents nations with a conundrum: How can governments bring their citizens home while also preventing further captures? The United States’s top hostage negotiator, a leading scholar, and a former hostage discuss navigating the difficult waters of hostage diplomacy.

The Afternoon of Conversation is the Aspen Ideas Festival's pinnacle programming moment. Over 2,000 people gather in the Benedict Music Tent, an open-air venue with acoustics that mimic an amphitheater, to hear from global leaders, community change-makers, journalists, politicians, and more. Doors open at 2 p.m.

With renewed conflict on the international stage, India’s decades-long policy of nonalignment, together with its surpassing China as the most populous nation, have arguably positioned it to become the world’s newest superpower. To what ends is it harnessing its growing influence and geopolitical independence?

Ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting tensions between the West, Russia, and China have made the NATO alliance all the more significant, and yet perhaps more vulnerable. What lies ahead as the alliance’s member nations assess each other’s commitments to their mutual security?

Since the dawn of the Olympics, sports have been a contest of global powers. Today, how are sports used as a means of conducting foreign policy — for better and for worse?

Across the globe, free and fair elections have given rise to autocratic regimes. Have we underestimated the fragility of democracy and overestimated its value? (Book signing with Shadi Hamid to follow.)

Does going electric mean buying lithium from Russia and Venezuela? What happens if the United States takes carbon action while competitors don’t? Experts weigh in on the geopolitical implications — and opportunities — of a global transition to cleaner energy.

The festival kicks off with thought leaders sharing fresh ideas about bridging divides, having better conversations, and encouraging creativity. A conversation with Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States will follow, and the program concludes with a discussion on the late-breaking developments in Russia. Doors open at 4:30 pm.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting geopolitical instability have caused many to draw parallels to the events preceding World War II. In the post-war years, the international community came together to establish institutions they believed would prevent worldwide conflict and genocide. Multiple conventions and treaties have since been ratified in an effort to stav...

In the first of a two-part discussion, experts explain the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which is widely misunderstood: What did Roe actually hold? And how does the Court’s much-anticipated Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling alter the current legal landscape with regard to abortion? In the second part, panelists explore a world after Dobbs. What are the co...

For years, experts have predicted that the next major conflict would take place inside our computers, rather than on physical battlefields. But the initial months of Russia's war in Ukraine have seen a surprising absence of cyber warfare — or has it? What’s the real role digital attacks have played in that war, and what have we learned about how cyber war works — and doesn...

The Afternoon of Conversation is the Aspen Ideas Festival's pinnacle programming moment. Over 2,000 people gather in the Benedict Music Tent, an open-air venue with acoustics that mimic an amphitheater, to hear from global leaders, community change-makers, journalists, politicians, and more.

Over the last two years, the nation seems to have been broken. Against the background of a politicized pandemic, there was a verbal and legal assault on democracy predicated on the lie of a rigged election, followed by a literal assault on the US Capitol building. Then, in spite of something so obvious to unite against, the opposition party struggled to find a solid ticket...

The Democratic majority in Congress hangs by a thread, and with it the Biden administration’s ability to accomplish much of its agenda. What the past two years have shown us is a party with aging leadership, held hostage by two senators, and divided by different visions of its core mission and values. With the 2022 midterms just around the corner and questions already bein...