2023: World on the Edge

The 2023 Borah Symposium addressed challenges to liberal democracy on a global scale. How a rise in autocratic governments has replaced international cooperation and the global spread of democracy was among topics discussed during the 76th annual University of Idaho Borah Symposium, Sept. 25-27, in Moscow. The symposium was free and open to the public.

In her keynote, speaker Fiona Hill, a Brookings Institution distinguished senior fellow and a former deputy assistant on Russian affairs to President Donald Trump, addressed the challenges to democracy on the world stage.

The Renfrew Colloquium, “Updating Senator Borah: A Nuclear Kellogg-Briand Pact,” was presented by David Koplow, professor at Georgetown University Law Center. The original pact, signed in 1928, outlawed war as an instrument of national policy. Koplaw presented a proposal to outlaw the threat of nuclear weapons as an instrument of national policy. Former Idaho Governor Kempthorne gave the closing address.

“As we find ourselves approaching the second winter of Russia's war against Ukraine, it is clear that there is no more pertinent a subject for the Borah Symposium,” said Borah committee member Dakota Roberson, associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. “The initial shockwaves of the invasion reverberated through global foreign policy and national defense circles, challenging long-held assumptions that open warfare against a large economy aspiring to align itself with the Western bloc was nearly unthinkable. Alongside a distinguished assembly of speakers, we will examine the conditions that precipitated this crisis, inviting a critical reevaluation of our preconceptions while endeavoring to understand how international cooperation can be improved to prevent such war in the future.”

The Borah Symposium honors the legacy of former U.S. Senator from Idaho William Edgar Borah (1864-1940) by considering the causes of war and the conditions necessary for peace in an international context. Held every year since 1948, this University of Idaho event offered new ideas for overcoming the obstacles to world peace and introduced audiences to the most contemporary global problem solvers of our time. Themes and speakers for the annual events were selected by the faculty-student Borah Foundation committee, with administrative and fiscal support provided by the staff of the Martin Institute.

2023 Schedule of Events

Monday, September 25 at 7 p.m.

• Location: International Ballroom, Pitman Center
• Keynote Address
• Fireside Chat moderated by Professor Kenton Bird of the UI School of Journalism and Mass Media
• Discussant: Fiona Hill, Distinguished Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings and former Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs, National Security Council

Tuesday, September 26 at 12:30 p.m.

• Location: Vandal Ballroom, Pitman Center
• Renfrew Colloquium: “Updating Senator Borah: A Nuclear Kellogg-Briand Pact”
• Presented by David Koplow, Scott K. Ginsberg Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center
• Co-sponsored by the Renfrew Colloquium

Tuesday, September 26 at 7 p.m.

• Location: Kenworthy Theater, 508 S Main St. in Moscow
• Documentary screening: "Putin's Attack on Ukraine: Documenting War Crimes"

Wednesday, September 27 at 7 p.m.

• Location: International Ballroom, Pitman Center
• Plenary Address
• Presented by Dirk Kempthorne, former Governor of Idaho and former US Secretary of the Interior