Members of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base will report on their regional tours during a presentation to the Alabama World Affairs Council at Troy University’s Montgomery Campus on Tuesday, May 7.

The event, which will take place in the Gold Room in Whitley Hall at the Montgomery Campus, will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation. The presentation is free to members of the Alabama World Affairs Council and $20 for guests. To register for the event, visit www.alwac.org/events.  

Bruce Kleiner, the State Department’s senior advisor to the Air War College, Dr. Dawn Murphy, assistant professor of international security studies, and Dr. David S. Sorenson, professor of international security studies, will discuss their visits to different areas of the world as a part of the Regional and Cultural Studies portion of the curriculum.

Kleiner, an active-duty career member of the Senior Foreign Service, will discuss Argentina and Chile. He teaches National Security Decision-Making, Global Security and participates in a range of courses across Air University. He was most recently posted in Cuba from the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana in 2015 to summer 2017, following a diplomatic assignment in Romania from 2012-2015. Other U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulate assignments abroad include Japan, Mexico, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru and Honduras.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1993, Kleiner worked as an on-air reporter, cameraman and editor at a number of NBC affiliates in the U.S., and managed CNN’s domestic news-gathering efforts as national assignment editor in Atlanta. He is an honors graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and holds a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Murphy, who joined the Air War College faculty in 2015, will discuss China and Korea. She specializes in Chinese foreign policy and domestic politics, international relations and comparative politics.

Murphy’s current research analyzes China’s interests, identity and behavior as a rising global power towards the existing international order. She examines China’s relations with the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa and is writing a book, “Rising Revisionist? China’s Evolving Relations with the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa in the Post-Cold War Ear.” The book project is based on field work conducted as a visiting scholar with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, a visiting research fellow with the American University in Cairo, and a visiting researcher at Stellenbosch University Centre for Chinese Studies in South Africa.

Murphy holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University, a master’s degree in international relations from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a Ph.D. in political science from George Washington University.

Sorenson, who previously served on the faculties of the University of Colorado, Denison University and the Mershon Center at Ohio State University, will discuss Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University at Long Beach and his Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Sorenson has published several books including, “Syria in Ruins: The Dynamics of the Syrian Civil War” (Praeger Publishers, 2016); “Lebanon: Global Security Watch” (Praeger Publishers, 2010), “The Process and Politics of Defense Acquisition: A Reference Book” (Praeger Publishers, 2008), “An Introduction to the Modern Middle East” (Westview Press, 2nd Edition, 2013), “Shutting Down the Cold War: The Politics of Military Base Closure” (St. Martin’s Press, 1998), and “The Politics of Strategic Aircraft Modernization,” (Praeger, 1995).

He served as associate dean for academic programs at the Air War College from 2000-2003.

The Alabama World Affairs Council sponsors lectures and programs on current and recent events of national and international interest throughout the year with the aim to increase individuals’ knowledge of world affairs and how they impact the United States. The Council also serves as a platform to showcase some of the world-class faculty at Maxwell Air Force Base’s Air University. The Council has partnered with Troy University, Alabama’s International University, bringing all Council events to the University’s Montgomery Campus.