CFFS Luncheon - 24 February 2026
University Club, 3100 Tower Blvd. 17th Floor, Durham, NC 27707
Members of the Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service and their guests are invited to the upcoming CFFS Lunch at 11:30am on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. The venue for the lunch is the University Club located off US 15/501 just north of the overpass connecting US 15/501 to I-85. As usual, we will gather for the social period at 11:30, moving to our tables around noon.
SPEAKER’S BIO:
Prof. Klaus W. Larres, Ph.D., is the Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor of History andInternational Affairs at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill, NC. At UNC he also directs the Krasno Global Events Series, a public events series with prominent speakers (videos: https://youtube.com/KrasnoUNC). Previously he served as Counselor & Senior Policy Adviser at the German Embassy in Beijing, China, held the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy & International Relations at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, was selected as a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, NJ, and was a Visiting Fellow at Germany’s leading think tank, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs(SWP) in Berlin. Recently he was a Visiting Scholar at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies of Harvard University and a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a regular columnist for the German daily newspaper Koelner Stadtanzeiger.
In his research, writing and lecturing, Larres focuses on the political, economic and security relations between the US-EU-China. He also works on transatlantic relations, including NATO, as well as on US, German, British, EU, Chinese and Taiwanese foreign policies, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the politics of European integration, and the history of the global Cold War. He has a great interest in global governance and leadership questions and current geo-political and geo-economic concerns, incl. international trade and investment policies.
TOPIC
Torn between the US and China? Europe's Strategic Dilemmas in a Shifting Global Order
Prof. Larres has published widely – both books and articles - on contemporary international history and global affairs. Please join us for a discussion with him about the economic and geopolitical approaches of the European Union and its member states toward both the US and China in light of the EU's increasing tension with the world's two superpowers..
The lunch will be buffet-style, and the cost of the lunch is $35. It will include a variety of options including vegetarian dishes. A cash bar is also available.
Make checks for your reservation payable to the Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service and mail them to:
Joyce Namde
5210 Kemmont Drive
Durham, NC 27713
You may also submit your payment using PayPal (www.paypal.com) by clicking the link below.
Reservation and payment must be received no later than Friday, February 13.
PLEASE NOTE: We welcome anyone who has an interest in diplomacy, foreign policy and international relations. The name of our organization says it all Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service. We do not require members to be retired Foreign Service or Military Service personnel. We would like you to encourage your family and friends to become members of CFFS.
We look forward to seeing you at lunch on February 24.
Regards,
Gregory C. Flood
Chair, CFFS Steering Committee
