Mari Carmen Aponte: How White House Shapes U.S. Policy Toward a Developing World

Study Group with Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte: From the Situation Room to the Global South: How the White House Shapes U.S. Policy Toward a Developing World

IN-PERSON GUEST: Daniel Erickson, Senior Advisor at Covington & Burling LLP, non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and former Special Assistant to President Biden and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council

In a fast-evolving world, nations of the Global South are asserting unprecedented and weightier influence on global economics, security and diplomacy. Policy decisions made in the White House resonate far beyond Washington, shaping how the U.S. engages with a continually transforming world. Yet few outside government understand how those decisions take shape. Who is in the room where it happens? How are tradeoffs debated? Does domestic policy influence global strategy? How does the White House translate these evolving realities into coherent U.S. policy?

Drawing on his experience as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense of the Western Hemisphere and as a senior advisor to President Biden, Daniel Erikson will provide an inside look at how policy toward an important region of the Global South: The Western Hemisphere, is made at the highest levels of government. From Interagency debates and presidential priorities to the pressures of public opinion, domestic politics, and global competition, Mr. Erikson, also a Kennedy School alumnae, will explore the complex forces that shape how Washington engages with Latin America, Africa, and beyond.

The session will illustrate both the process and the politics of policymaking, examining how issues such as climate change, migration, democracy and China’s expanding influence are addressed inside the executive branch- and how future policymakers can navigate those competing demands.

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address. 

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.