Source: OU Contemporary History Institute, www.ohiou.edu/conhist

A former government adviser on Eastern Europe and a panel of speakers from universities around the world will address U.S. relations with its European allies at the 23rd annual Baker Peace Conference, beginning tonight.

This year’s conference is titled “The State of the Atlantic Alliance,” and the keynote address will be given by Strobe Talbott, who worked in the Department of State from 1993 to 2001 and served as special adviser to the Secretary of State on the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Talbott currently serves as president of The Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.,-based policy and research organization.

Talbott will give his address tonight, while three separate panels of speakers will address the topic throughout the day tomorrow.

This year’s conference will focus on U.S.-Europe relations and the differences in opinion on terrorism, globalization and the U.S.’s involvement in the International Criminal Court, said Norman Goda, chair of the history department and a panel moderator.

The conference, which costs about $40,000 to organize and conduct, is funded by the Baker Peace Fund, an endowment created by former Ohio University President John Baker. OU’s Contemporary History Institute, based in the university’s history department, organizes the conference and other local events throughout the year.

Steven Miner, director of the institute, coordinated this year’s conference and helped select the speakers and moderators on each panel. Those selected represent what Miner called a wide spectrum of viewpoints.

Goda’s panel, “The Punishment of War Crimes and the International Criminal Court,” likely will be the most heated of the three panels, he said, because it will deal with the debate over whether the U.S. should be a part of the international criminal court, which would allow American soldiers to be tried by non-American authorities.

Miner said students often attend with a desire to learn about international politics and express their opinions. The conference’s goal is to encourage this kind of interest and participation among students, he said.

“The money is there, the expertise is there, what is needed is interest on the part of the students,” he said.