The America in the World Consortium invites students, scholars, and policy practitioners to submit proposals for a one-day conference on issues facing the Indo-Pacific region and its role in American foreign policy and strategy. The conference will take place Friday, March 4, 2022 at the University of Texas-Austin.

In the 50 years since President Nixon’s opening to China, the Indo-Pacific has become the focal point of world affairs and American foreign policy due to the region’s burgeoning political, economic, military, and cultural influence. Its member countries occupy key nodes in the networks and partnerships binding the international order together. The presence of China and India, long-standing American allies such as Australia, Japan, and Korea, and emerging states in Southeast Asia, as well as the preponderance of flashpoints and issues of mutual interest create complex considerations for American policymakers and scholars. Any formation of future American strategy and policy toward the Indo-Pacific must address an expansive array of challenges: alliances, climate, health, migration, security, trade, and more.

In recognition of this, the AWC and its partners, the Clements Center for National Security (UT-Austin), the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs (JHU-SAIS), and the Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy, are convening an interdisciplinary conference to examine the myriad issues that illustrate the significance of the Indo-Pacific region to American foreign policy. This conference seeks to examine the causes, connections, implications, and lessons that will impact the work of scholars and policymakers as America engages the Indo-Pacific in the 21st century.