Tuesday, April 1, 2025
3:00–4:00 PM HST | 9:00–10:00 PM EDT
Hybrid Event: 258 Moore Hall and Online
With the recent closure of many US foreign aid programs, CIPA is excited to present a timely talk on Tuesday, April 1, with Dr. Elise Rainer (Professor, American Public University & University of Washington) about the implications of foreign aid for democracy and global security. Beyond the United States, she will provide the landscape of who gives foreign aid, including governments, international institutions, and private organizations. With a focus on democracy, human rights, and governance assistance, Dr. Rainer will explain some specific foreign aid goals and their long-term implications in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Rainer will analyze the effects of foreign aid related to humanitarian efforts, economic empowerment, and broader regional and global security. She will ultimately demonstrate that more stable countries make better trade partners, and increased stability leads to improved global security.
This event will be followed by a reception in the Tokioka Room (319 Moore Hall).
Elise Rainer is a professor of international relations and a former diplomat with the US State Department, US Mission to the United Nations, and USAID. Her work has shaped US human rights foreign policy and human rights and democracy programs in North Africa and the Gulf. After leaving her diplomatic career, Dr. Rainer founded an organization called Aurora Global Advisors, that provides evaluation and strategic plan recommendations to global human rights and democracy-implementing organizations. Dr. Rainer teaches undergraduate and doctoral students in a variety of international relations courses.
This event is sponsored and hosted by the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.