September 12 - September 14 2003
Since its inception the IISS has held an annual conference for its members drawn from around the world. The IISS Annual Conferences have become known for their global perspective and diverse participation.
In 2002 the Institute restyled these events Global Strategic Reviews, with the aim of underscoring the Institute’s role in setting the intellectual agenda and helping to establish the terms of the international debate on key strategic issues.
The 2003 GSR took place from Friday 12 - Sunday 14 September at the Lansdowne Resort just outside Washington DC. It aimed to set the intellectual agenda of strategic priorities and concerns for the coming year and addressed three principal issues: the changing shape of the Middle East, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the debate over new strategic doctrines.
The keynote address on Friday evening was given by US Senator Chuck Hagel, R-NE (pictured below). Chuck Hagel is the Senior Senator from Nebraska and sits on three committees: Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Senator Hagel has been a strong supporter of the IISS Asia Security Conference: The Shangri-La Dialogue, serving as the Co-Chair (with Senator Jack Reed, D-RI) of the Congressional Delegation to Singapore for the inaugural 2002 meeting and again in 2003.
The conference was plenary-based, with brief presentations from 21 speakers and plenty of time provided for discussion. Plenaries addressed the topics: The New Iraq and the Changing Shape of Gulf Stability; Political and Curriculum Change in the Middle East; The West and Its Institutions: Losing Allies But Gaining Converts?; Next Phases in the Campaigns Against Terrorism and WMD; The Changing Nature of Sovereignty and Strategy; Media Perspectives on Public Opinion and the New Security Challenges; and New Strategic Doctrines for a New Age.
The weekend concluded with a reception at the British Ambassador's Residence in Washington hosted by the new British Ambassador to Washington, Sir David Manning KCMG, former Foreign Policy Adviser to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
