Institute for Peace & Diplomacy

06/16/2026

The U.S.–Iran preliminary MoU framework is a welcome diplomatic opening — but it should not be mistaken for a durable settlement.

If the 60-day negotiation window fails, the next phase of confrontation may not be defined by conventional military targets alone. It may shift toward infrastructure: energy networks, ports, electricity grids, transportation systems, water infrastructure, industrial capacity, and public services.

In this timely analysis for IPD, Arsham Reisinezhad and سیمرغ ایران | آرش رئیسی‌نژاد argue that infrastructure warfare would carry risks far beyond , the United States, and . It could regionalize the conflict, expose critical infrastructure, disrupt energy and fertilizer markets, and deepen global economic insecurity.

Read the full analysis on IPD website.

06/15/2026

🆕In the latest commentary, Arsham and Arash Reisinezhad explore how infrastructure warfare could escalate the U.S.-Iran war into a broader contest of mutually assured infrastructure destruction with global repercussions.

Read the full analysis, link in bio.

06/02/2026

📢 On May 28, , , and the Offices of the Honourable and the Honourable convened the Parliamentary Symposium, “The Future of Middle Powers After The Rupture: Perspectives from Canada and Beyond.”

The event brought together parliamentarians, ambassadors, senior officials, scholars, and policy experts to examine the evolving role of middle powers amid rising geopolitical fragmentation.

Thank you to all our panelists and attendees for making the discussion so engaging and thought-provoking.

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

Büyükelçi Sayın Can Dizdar, Barış ve Diplomasi Enstitüsü tarafından Senato’da düzenlenen “The Future of Middle Powers After The Rupture: Perspectives from Canada and Beyond” başlıklı sempozyuma panelist olarak katılmıştır.

H.E. Ambassador Can Dizdar participated as a panelist in the symposium titled “The Future of Middle Powers After the Rupture: Perspectives from Canada and Beyond,” at the Senate, organized by the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy.

05/25/2026

🏛️ Interested in learning how think tanks, advocacy networks, businesses, and interest groups shape political outcomes and public debate?

This summer, as part of the Applied Geopolitics and Strategy Course ( ), Mr. Reid Smith, Vice President of Foreign Policy at , will lead an exclusive, off-the-record session on “Outsider Influence: Winning in the Marketplace of Ideas and Shaping Policy Outcomes.”

The session examines how policy agendas are increasingly shaped through influence rather than government institutions alone, and how outside actors mobilize ideas, networks, and sustained strategic pressure to shape decision-making over time.

AGSC applications close June 1st.

05/21/2026

🌎 Interested in learning how diplomacy unfolds behind closed doors?

This summer, as part of the Applied Geopolitics and Strategy Course ( ), Seraina Eldada, Project Manager, Mediation and Peace Support at will lead an exclusive, off-the-record session on “Diplomacy in Practice: From Multitrack Dialogue to Deal-Making.”

Drawing on real-world mediation and negotiation frameworks, the session explores backchannel diplomacy, strategic , and the informal mechanisms increasingly shaping conflict resolution and international deal-making today.

AGSC applications close June 1st.

05/21/2026

We are pleased to welcome the Honourable Sergio Marchi, as a faculty instructor for our Applied Geopolitics and Strategy Course ( ).

He will lead the session: «Inside the Process: How High-Level Decision-Makers Engage with Non-Government Actors»

🔹Honourable Sergio Marchi served as Canada’s Minister for International Trade, alongside several other senior cabinet portfolios, including Environment and Immigration.

🔹He also served as Canada’s Ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

🔹He is currently a member of the Advisory Council of the Canadian American Business Council, as well as an advisor to the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy.

🔹He specializes in in Canadian , Canada-U.S. business relations, and global .

➡️ Learn more about AGSC and apply today: www.peacediplomacy.org/agsc

⏳ Applications are due June 1st

05/20/2026

🆕 In his latest in-depth, Senior Fellow Andrew Latham writes that while middle powers invest in reputation, medium powers invest in leverage.

For , he contends that a medium-power foreign policy should be grounded in the material realities that give its diplomacy real weight: its Arctic geography, its mineral endowments, and its North Atlantic depth.

➡️ Read the full analysis on our website.

05/19/2026

💡 ICYMI: As Donald Trump weighs decision-making on the Iran war a week out from his summit in Beijing with Xi Jinping, says China’s influence has grown from being an «indispensable commercial actor to a pivotal geopolitical arbiter.»