Please Join Us for Our Fall 2017 Symposium on November 13th at 11:30am at the Founders Hall Auditorium where our panel will explore the legal and policy issues surrounding targeted sanctions against different countries.
RSVP to symposium@nslj.org
We are pleased to welcome a distinguished panel of attorneys and policy experts specializing in foreign policy, economics, and current events for this event, two of whom are George Mason professors.
Panelists
Dr. Mark Katz, Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government
Dr. Katzis a professor of government and politics at George Mason University. He earned a B.A. in international relations from the University of California at Riverside in 1976, an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in 1978, and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.
Before teaching at George Mason University, Dr. Katz was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (1980-81), held a temporary appointment as a Soviet affairs analyst at the U.S. Department of State, was a Rockefeller Foundation international relations fellow, and was both a Kennan Institute research scholar and research associate. He has also received a U.S. Institute of Peace fellowship and grant, and several Earhart Foundation fellowship research grants.
Dr. Katz is the author of titles such as The Third World in Soviet Military Thought, Russia and Arabia: Soviet Foreign Policy toward the Arabian Peninsula, Gorbachev’s Military Policy in the Third World, Revolutions and Revolutionary Waves, Reflections on Revolutions, and Leaving without Losing: The War on Terror after Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. Gregory Koblentz, Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government
Dr. Koblentz is an Associate Professor and Director of the Biodefense Graduate Program in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is also an Associate Faculty at the Center for Global Studies at George Mason and a member of the Scientist Working Group on Chemical and Biological Weapons at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, DC. From 2012-2013, Dr. Koblentz was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations where he conducted research on nuclear proliferation.
Prior to arriving at George Mason, Dr. Koblentz was a visiting assistant professor in the School of Foreign Service and Department of Government at Georgetown University. He has also worked for the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Dr. Koblentz is the author of Strategic Stability in the Second Nuclear Age and Living Weapons: Biological Warfare and International Security and co-author of Tracking Nuclear Proliferation: A Guide in Maps and Charts. His research and teaching focus on international security and weapons of mass destruction. He received a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MPP from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Mr. Adam Smith, Partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Mr. Smith is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is an experienced international lawyer with a focus on international trade compliance and white collar investigations, including with respect to federal and state economic sanctions enforcement, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, embargoes, and export controls.
From 2010-2015, Mr. Smith served in the Obama Administration as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and as the Director for Multilateral Affairs on the National Security Council. At OFAC he played a primary role in all aspects of the agency’s work, including briefing Congressional and private sector leadership on sanctions matters, shaping new Executive Orders, regulations, and policy guidance for both strengthening sanctions (Russia and Syria) and easing measures (Burma and Cuba), and advising on enforcement actions following sanctions violations. Mr. Smith frequently chaired the Treasury delegation to EU/G7 consultations regarding Russia sanctions and negotiated with EU institutions and member states to implement coordinated measures. Additionally, Mr. Smith managed the development and implementation of the U.S. government’s international outreach program on Congressionally-mandated Iran sanctions and helped develop proposed sanctions relief strategies as a part of the Iranian nuclear negotiations. During Mr. Smith’s tenure on the White House’s National Security Council, he advised the President on his multilateral agenda, which included international sanctions, coordinated inter-agency efforts to relieve U.S. economic restrictions on Burma, and developed strategies to counter corruption and illicit flows and to promote stolen asset recovery.
Dr. Andrea Viski, Director at the Strategic Trade Research Institute
Dr. Viski serves as the Director of the Strategic Trade Research Institute, and as the Editor-in- Chief of the Strategic Trade Review. From 2013-2017, she worked as a Scientific Officer for Strategic Trade Controls with the European Commission. Before that she worked with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) as a researcher on Arms Control, Disarmament, non-proliferation, Dual-Use, and Arms Trade Control Programs. In 2008 she was a part of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center on Nuclear Safeguards. Ms. Viski studied at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Institute for Law, Science, and Global Security. She received her Ph.D. from the European University Institute’s Department of Law.
Moderator
Mr. Jamil Jaffer, Professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Mr. Jaffer is the Founder of National Security Institute and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law and
Director of the National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where he teaches classes on counterterrorism, intelligence, surveillance, cybersecurity, and national security. Professor Jaffer most recently served as a clerk to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch of the United States Supreme Court. Prior to working at the Supreme Court, Professor Jaffer was Vice President for Strategy & Business Development at IronNet Cybersecurity, a startup technology firm founded by former National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Keith Alexander (ret.) and former National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Matt Olsen. Professor Jaffer is also a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and is affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Professor Jaffer is a prolific author in the fields of foreign policy, counterterrorism, cybersecurity, encryption, and intelligence matters. Professor Jaffer holds degrees from UCLA (B.A., cum laude), the University of Chicago Law School (J.D., with honors), and the United States Naval War College (M.A., with distinction).