David Phillips will speak at the World Affairs Forum on Mar. 16 at the Main Library (Ferguson Library), DiMattia Building, Third Floor Auditorium in Stamford on “Turkey’s Dark Future”. The program, which is partially sponsored by GE Asset Management, will begin at 5:45 p.m. with networking and refreshments, followed by the presentation at 6:15 p.m. The program will conclude at 7:30 p.m.

David L. Phillips is Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Phillips served as Foreign Affairs Expert and as Senior Adviser to the U.S. State Department during the administrations of President Clinton, Bush, and Obama. He specializes on Turkey, Syria, Iraq and the Kurds.

In his distinguished career working on conflict resolution over 25 years, Phillips also served as Senior Adviser to the United Nations Secretariat, Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Future of Diplomacy Project and Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for Middle East Studies, Deputy Director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations, Senior Fellow at the Preventive Diplomacy Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Project Director at the International Peace Research Institute of Oslo, President of the Congressional Human Rights Foundation, and Executive Director of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

Phillips has written many books, dozens of policy reports and hundreds of articles in leading publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, and Foreign Affairs. He is author of Losing Iraq: Inside the Post-War Reconstruction Fiasco (Perseus Books) and The Kurdish Spring: A New Map for the Middle East (Transaction Publishers.).

“Erdogan wants Turks to blame others for the country’s problems. However, there will be a tipping point when they blame Erdogan for mismanaging Turkey’s affairs, endangering its security, and turning a blind eye to criminal profiteering by his friends and family.” – David Phillips

The cost for admission to the event is $20 per person for the general public and is free for 2015-2016 Forum and AR Series members, faculty and students. The Ferguson Library is located at the corner of Broad St. and Bedford St. in Stamford. For reservations please contact the World Affairs Forum at 203-356-0340 or email info@worldaffairsforum.org.

The World Affairs Forum is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to expanding understanding of global affairs and America’s role in the world. The Forum is an affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America.