Dr. David Richards, an associate professor of international relations and political science at University of Lynchburg, will deliver the first address in the 2017 Great Decisions Lecture Series.
Each February, this lecture series addresses current topics related to global events and international relations. Dr. Richards will present “Latin America’s Political Pendulum” on Thursday, February 2, at 3 p.m. in the Lynchburg Public Library Community Room.
His lecture will examine the way economic changes have shifted policies in Latin American countries away from leftist policies, and how the United States could respond to improve relationships with those countries. According to the lecture’s official description, “The pendulum of Latin American politics is swinging rightward once again. Yet as the ‘pink tide’ recedes, the forces of change have more to do with socioeconomics than ideology. Dramatic economic and political crises have coincided in countries like Brazil and Venezuela. S2017 Great Decisions Lecture Seriestill, the final result for Latin America may be the emergence of centrist, pragmatic modes of governance, and with them, opportunities for the U.S. to improve relations. The new administration must look beyond the neoliberal model of the 1990s, and develop an approach to relations fit for the 21st century.”
Additional lectures in February include:
February 9 – The Future of Europe by Dr. John Ashbrook of Sweet Briar College
February 16 – Saudi Arabia in Transition by Mitra Nafissian-Rash, of Legacy International
February 23 – Conflict in the South China Sea by Dr. Jeffrey Key of Sweet Briar College
Each lecture begins at 3 p.m. after light refreshments are served at 2:30. The lecture series is sponsored by the Lynchburg Branch of the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters of Lynchburg, the YWCA of Central Virginia, and the Lynchburg Public Library.
