Former Ambassador James W. Pardew To Speak In Kentucky

With current tensions between the US and North Korea on the rise, continued instability in the Middle East, and a resurgent Russia, it is more important than ever to use the United States' past foreign policy as an avenue of learning and improvement. As a leading policymaker in the Balkans following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, former ambassador to Bulgaria James W. Pardew boasts significant firsthand experience in diffusing the worst European War since the end of World War II. Ambassador Pardew will be speaking about his experience and the lessons he learned at Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky where he will be delivering the 2018 Vince Davis Distinguished Lecture to the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.

The Vince Davis Distinguished Lecturer series began in 2003 and was named after the late Professor Vince Davis, who served as Director of the Patterson School from 1972 to 1993. Both the Vince Davis Distinguished Lecture and the lecture at Transylvania University are free and open to the public. Pardew will also be signing copies of his new book, Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans. These events will be held:

Wednesday, January 31, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm:

Cowgill Center, Room 102

Transylvania University

Thursday, February 1, 2018, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Vince Davis Distinguished Lecture

W.T. Young Library Auditorium, University of Kentucky

401 Hilltop Avenue, Lexington

Lecture and book signing, with a reception to follow

Pardew's first book, Peacemakers, was released earlier this month. It is the first inclusive history of the successful multilateral intervention in the Balkans from 1995-2008 by an official directly involved in the diplomatic and military responses to the crises. A deadly accident near Sarajevo in 1995 thrust James Pardew into the center of efforts to stop the fighting in Bosnia. In a detailed narrative, he shows how Richard Holbrooke and the US envoys who followed him helped to stop or prevent vicious wars in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Pardew describes the human drama of diplomacy and war, illuminating the motives, character, talents, and weaknesses of the national leaders involved.

James W. Pardew was at the heart of US national policymaking throughout the humanitarian crises in the Balkans, from Richard Holbrooke's negotiations on Bosnia in 1995 until the independence of Kosovo in 2008. Ambassador Pardew was the primary US negotiator of the Ohrid Agreement in Macedonia. He also led Balkan task forces for the Secretaries of Defense and State and served as a policy advisor at NATO. Prior to his diplomatic service, he spent twenty-seven years in the US Army as an intelligence officer.