Great Decisions: US Engagement with Africa
Schedule
Thu, 12 Mar, 2026 at 06:30 pm
UTC-05:00Location
2418 Leon Bond Drive, Green Bay, WI, United States, Wisconsin 54311 | Green Bay, WI
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Addressing topics selected by the Foreign Policy Association, the Great Decisions Lecture Series is America's largest discussion program on foreign affairs. The series of six Great Decisions Lectures at the Mauthe Center continues a longstanding collaboration between the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and St. Norbert College, with faculty from both institutions contributing to the selection of speakers and the discussions themselves. This week's topic is "U.S. Engagement with Africa" The description from the Foreign Policy Association states, "Africa’s geopolitical role is growing. What lessons can the U.S. learn from China’s presence there, and how might it strengthen ties, especially with leading nations like Nigeria? What tools of statecraft might the U.S. bring to its engagement with Africa?"
Our speaker will be Dr. Soeren Henn, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsint. His research lies at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy and development economics. He studies the politics of development with a focus on fragile state settings, informal institutions, and conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Great Lakes region, and Latin America. Using a range of methods, from field and natural experiments to qualitative interviews, his research aims to address the overarching question of what characterizes governance in fragile states and how it might be improved. Dr. Henn's work has been published or is forthcoming in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of African Economies, the Review of Economic Studies, and World Politics. Findings of his research have received coverage from Brookings, Development Impact, Global Prosperity Institute, LSE Business Review, Marginal Revolution, ThisWeekinAfrica, and VoxEU. Previously, Dr. Henn was a Lecturer in Economics at Newcastle University Business School (2022-24) and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Pearson Institute (2021-22) and Innovations for Poverty Action’s Peace and Recovery Program (2019-21). He received his Ph.D. in Political Economy & Government from Harvard University in 2019. Before graduate school he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics with a secondary field in Economics from the University of Essex and attended high school in Rwanda and Canada.
This hybrid event is free and open to the public. We encourage you to attend in person if you are able, as the discussion promises to be fruitful! If you prefer to attend virtually, register for the Zoom webinar here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9Hoyh7xfRbW4cRi3mk0RFw
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Where is it happening?
2418 Leon Bond Drive, Green Bay, WI, United States, Wisconsin 54311Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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