Great Decisions

https://www.fpa.org/great_decisions/?act=gd_topics

Great Decisions 2026

Our North Hills Pittsburgh branch of AAUW has sponsored the Great Decisions program for over forty years. Great Decisions is a program developed by the Foreign Policy Association which provides communities with a unique opportunity to learn about issues of global importance in an engaging and interactive format. This seven-week program begins on the first Saturday in February and continues for the next six consecutive Saturdays.

Great Decisions
Session #1 has been reschedule for Saturday, March 21 st !

There will be NO Great Decisions
session tomorrow- no in-person or Zoom.

We look forward to seeing you next

Saturday, February 14th !

Schedule 2026

It is almost Great Decisions season once again, and as of early December, we have a speaker for four of our six Saturday sessions:

  • U.S.-China Relations Trade Rivalry, a discussion focused on both security motives as well as the tariff situation. (Dr. Mark Haas, Duquesne University)

This topic is scheduled for our first session, Saturday, February 7th, 2026.

  • America and the World: Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy, a discussion that will explore the implications of a return of Trump to the presidency and how it may reshape U.S. foreign policy. (Professor Ross Harrison, University of Pittsburgh)

This topic is scheduled for our second session, Saturday, February 14th, 2026.

  • Ruptured Alliances and the risk of Nuclear Proliferation, a discussion focused on the consequences of weakened alliances & the implication for global security, specifically in regard to nuclear weapons. (Dr. Soren Fanning, Robert Morris University)

This topic is scheduled for our third session, Saturday, February 21st, 2026.

  • U.S. Engagement of Africa, a discussion focusing on Africa’s growing geopolitical role, comparing U.S. and Chinese presence, and the tools of statecraft the U.S. might use to strengthen ties. (TBA)

This topic is scheduled for our fourth session, Saturday, February 28th, 2026.

  • The Future of Human Rights and International Law, A look at the future of global cooperation amidst shifting power dynamics and rising nationalism. (TBA)

This topic is scheduled for our fifth session, Saturday, March 7th, 2026.

  • Ukraine and the Future of European Security, a discussion on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its effects on European security. (Dr. Soren Fanning, Robert Morris University)

This topic is scheduled for Saturday, March 14th, 2026.

Our North Hills Pittsburgh branch of AAUW is proud to sponsor the largest discussion program on world affairs (put forth by the Foreign Policy Association) and we hope you will be able to join us on Saturday mornings to learn more about some of the most critical issues facing America today!

Great Decisions facilitators – Francie Cech, Fran Bogos, and Sister Rita Yeasted

What: Our topic is “U.S. China Relations in the new Trump Era”

When: Saturday, March 21, 2026, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Where: La Roche University, PSC room 101 or 

Our guest speaker will be Dr. Mark Haas from Duquesne University Mark L. Haas is the Duquesne Professor of Political Science at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He formerly was a National Security Fellow at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies and an International Security Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, both at Harvard University. Dr. Haas received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Virginia and his B.A. in political science, economics, and history from Duke University.

He is the author of numerous books including: The Geriatric Peace: Population Aging and the Decline of War (Oxford University Press, 2025); Frenemies: When Ideological Enemies Ally (Cornell University Press, 2022); The Clash of Ideologies: Middle Eastern Politics and American Security (Oxford University Press, 2012); The Ideological Origins of Great Power Politics, 1789-1989 (Cornell University Press, 2005), and co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Ideology and International Relations (Routledge Press, 2023); The Middle East and the United States: History, Politics, and Ideologies (Routledge, 2018, sixth edition) and The Arab Spring: The Hope and Reality of the Uprisings (Routledge, 2017).

Dr. Haas’s scholarly articles have appeared in International Security, International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, Security Studies, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, and The Review of Politics, and his opinion pieces have been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The International Tribune Review, and our very own Pittsburgh Post Gazette.