Trends and Trajectories: China and the World

The World Affairs Council of Charlotte invites you to an exclusive panel discussion on October 3, featuring two distinguished experts on U.S.-China relations: Dean Shelley Rigger, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Brown Professor of Asian Politics at Davidson College, and Tate Nurkin, a leading authority on defense, U.S.-China military competition, and Indo-Pacific security.

During this in-depth presentation, Dean Rigger and Mr. Nurkin will provide critical analysis on:

  • China’s Expanding Global Role: How China’s growing economic and political influence is reshaping international norms and shifting power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
  • Economic Alliances and Military Build-Up: The implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its rapid military modernization, including the expansion of its naval capabilities and technological advancements in cyber and artificial intelligence.
  • Global Security Challenges: How China’s actions are affecting U.S. strategic interests, regional stability, and global security, including potential flashpoints such as Taiwan, the South China Sea, and tensions with the U.S. over trade and technology.

This luncheon offers a rare opportunity to gain expert insights into the evolving complexities of U.S.-China relations. With global competition heating up, understanding China’s strategies and the U.S. response is more critical than ever. Attendees will have the chance to engage directly with two leading voices from the Queen City in global affairs.

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Program Information: 

Date:
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Check-In and Pre-Lunch Networking: 
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch & Presentation: 
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location:
Hilton Charlotte Uptown
Cost:
$50 (WACC Member Rate)
$65 (Non-Member Rate)
$35 (Young Professionals of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte — YPWACC)
$35 (WACC Student Member / WACC Educator Member)

 

 

 

Biography of Shelley Rigger:

Shelley Rigger is Brown Professor of East Asian Politics and Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty at Davidson College. She has a PhD in Government from Harvard University and a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. She has been a Fulbright scholar at National Taiwan University (2019), a visiting researcher at National Chengchi University in Taiwan (2005) and a visiting professor at Fudan University (2006) and Shanghai Jiaotong University (2013 & 2015).

She is a non-resident fellow of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University and a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). She is also a director of The Taiwan Fund, a closed-end investment fund specializing in Taiwan-listed companies.

Rigger is the author of two books on Taiwan’s domestic politics, Politics in Taiwan: Voting for Democracy (Routledge 1999) and From Opposition to Power: Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2001). She has published two books for general readers, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global

Powerhouse (2011) and The Tiger Leading the Dragon: How Taiwan Propelled China’s Economic Rise (2021). She has published articles on Taiwan’s domestic politics, the national identity issue in Taiwan-China relations and related topics.

Biography of Tate Nurkin:

Tate Nurkin is an independent researcher, analyst, and consultant with over 25 years of experience on defense and international security issues.

In March 2018, Tate started OTH Intelligence Group LLC, a sole proprietorship LLC established to provide analysis, consulting, and training on defense technology, Indo-Pacific security, and defense industry and market issues. OTH also specializes in the design and delivery of scenario planning and strategic wargaming exercises to both public and private sector organizations.

Tate serves as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with both Forward Defense and the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative within the Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. He is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) where he supports Indo-Pacific-focused wargaming and defense technology

analysis. Since 2019, he has served as a Partner with One Defense, a firm that helps commercial firms engage with the U.S. defense and national security community.

Tate is a frequent speaker and author and his analysis has featured on and in CNN, Defense News, Breaking Defense, Janes Defense Weekly, Janes Intelligence Review, Janes Navy International, Deutsche Welle, The Military Balance (’21-’24), The Hill, and Defence IQ, among many others. He has published several monographs on defense innovation and technology policy and AI development for defense through the Atlantic Council since 2019.

From 2006 to February 2018, Tate worked with defense intelligence firm Janes, including as the Executive Director of Strategic Assessments and Futures Studies. Prior to Janes, he worked at the Modelling, Simulation, Wargaming and Analysis team at Booz Allen Hamilton, the Strategic Assessment Center of SAIC, and Joint Management Services, a small defense consulting firm in Atlanta.

Tate holds a Master of Science in International Affairs from the Sam Nunn School of international affairs at Georgia Tech (1999) and a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from Duke University (1994). He lives in the Charlotte, NC area.