CFFS Luncheon - October 28, 2026

 

Carolina Meadows, 100 Whippoorwill Ln, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27517

Members of the Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service and their guests are invited to the upcoming CFFS Lunch at 11:30am on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. The venue for lunch is Carolina Meadows. Depending on the number of attendees, the lunch will be in the Private Dining Room or the Auditorium.  As usual, we will gather for a social period at 11:30, moving to our tables around noon.

 

SPEAKER’S BIO:

 

Our speaker is Professor Joseph Stieb.

Dr. Joseph Stieb is an Assistant Professor of History and UNC, Chapel Hill. He received his PhD in U.S. History from UNC in 2019, following an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.A. magna cum laude, in History and Political Science from Trinity College in San Antonio, TX. 

Prior to returning to UNC, he was an Assistant Professor of National Security Studies at The United States Naval War College, Newport, RI.  He also had a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, at The Ohio State University.

Dr Stieb has published numerous academic articles in journals such as the Journal of American Studies, the Journal of Strategic Studies, Diplomatic History, and the Texas National Security Review. 

His first book was published in 2021, The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003.  It is part of the Cambridge University Press “Military, War, and Society in Modern American History” series.  It has received several favorable reviews, including https://s-usih.org/2022/01/the-forgotten-decade-that-made-the-invasion-of-iraq-possible-ross-caputi-on-joseph-stiebs-the-regime-change-consensus-iraq-in-american-politics-1990-2003/ and https://networks.h-net.org/node/28443/discussions/10466826/h-diplo-roundtable-xxiii-46-stieb-regime-change-consensus-iraq.

 

TOPIC: The Origins of the War on Terror

Dr. Stieb’s current research, and the topic of his presentation, is the root cause of terrorism, focusing on the responses of the American right from the 1960s through the War on Terror.  Dr. Stieb's work is as much about the history of ideas as it is the history of events.

 

The lunch will be buffet-style, and the cost of the lunch is $35. It will include a variety of options including vegetarian dishes.  Wine and beer will be available for purchase (credit card only!) at the bar.

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.

Pay Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service using PayPal.Me paypal.me

 

Reservation and payment must be received no later than Sunday, October 18.

 

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 October 28.

 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.

Pay Carolina Friends of the Foreign Service using PayPal.Me paypal.me

 

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

 

(Photos courtesy of Betsy Malpass)

 

 Photos from our Luncheon on February 18, 2025