Chris Seiple: Religious Freedom: The Ultimate Counterterrorism Weapon?

Google Tech Talk
August 12, 2009

ABSTRACT
Presented by Chris Seiple.

While the U.S. can summon hard power with relative ease, employing soft power is more difficult. Indeed, smart power suggests that hard and soft power are two sides of the same coin, that our interests are protected when our values are promoted. If Americans want to engage the world with efficient and enduring effect, we must better understand the essence of American power and the foundation of the global public square: religious freedom.

The Institute for Global Engagement promotes sustainable environments for religious freedom worldwide. It studies the impact of faith on state and society, it encourages governments to protect religious freedom, and it equips citizens to exercise that freedom responsibly.

Chris Seiple, Ph.D., is the president of the Institute for Global Engagement. A graduate of Stanford, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Fletcher School for Law & Diplomacy, he is the founder of The Review of Faith & International Affairs , a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (Philadelphia), a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York), and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London). His book, The U.S. Military/NGO Relationship in Humanitarian Interventions, is a seminal work in the field, and he is the co-author of International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law, and NGOs. Seiple has appeared on BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, and Saudi TV. He has spoken all over the world, including Tashkent, Doha, Peshawar, Bannu, Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Hanoi, Issakul, Urumchi, Oslo, Hama, and Beijing. A former Marine infantry officer, he also speaks regularly at U.S. military schools regarding national security and religious and cultural engagement.