Join us for a discussion about changing dynamics in cross-Strait stability and the future of the US policy of "strategic ambiguity". Given evolving security and geopolitical dynamics and increasing tensions between the United States and China the continued endurance of the status quo is increasingly in doubt, creating new urgency for the U.S. to reassess its strategic position on Taiwan -- and develop a genuinely multidimensional approach to deterrence -- or risk catastrophic failure. The discussion will delve into these critical issues, exploring the implications for international relations, the U.S.-Japan alliance, and regional stability.

Michael Schiffer is a consultant who was Assistant Administrator of the USAID Bureau for Asia from 2022 to 2025. From 2012 to 2022 he served as senior advisor and counselor on the Democratic Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From 2009 to 2012, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia.

His previous positions include serving as a program officer at the Stanley Foundation, a Council on Foreign Relations Hitachi International Affairs Fellowship, and serving on the staff of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), including as her national security adviser and Legislative Director.  Prior to that, he was Director of International Security Programs at New York University's Center for War, Peace, and the News Media and was co-manager of the Poipu Bed and Breakfast Inn in Poipu, Kauai.

Mr. Schiffer  received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and New York University.

 

Moderator/organiser: Robert Dujarric, Temple University Japan.  Questions: dujarric@temple.edu