2025 Borah Symposium to explore strategies for peace and stability amid intensifying global tensions

MOSCOW, Idaho — How can peace be pursued in a world of rising tensions among global powers? The 2025 Borah Symposium — taking place Monday, Sept. 29, to Wednesday, Oct. 1, at University of Idaho — will explore this question and address the theme of “Great Power Competition.”  

The symposium will examine how interactions among the world’s most influential states shape both the landscape of international conflict and the possibilities for stability.  

“In a time when global politics feels increasingly uncertain, conversations about great power competition are not just for policymakers — they affect all of us,” said Bal Krishna Sharma, co-chair of the Borah Committee and associate professor of applied linguistics. “The Borah Symposium provides a rare opportunity for our campus and community to engage directly with distinguished voices in international affairs and to reflect on how peace can be envisioned and pursued.”  

This year’s closing keynote speaker will be K.T. McFarland, an American foreign policy analyst and former government official who served as deputy national security advisor under President Donald Trump in 2017. McFarland’s career spans five decades, beginning as a White House aide to Henry Kissinger in the Nixon and Ford administrations and culminating at the National Security Council with Trump.

The plenary keynote speaker is Esther D. Brimmer, James H. Binger senior fellow in global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations and former assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs in the Obama administration. A complete list of events and times is below.

“The degree to which ‘Great Power Competition’ has been front and center over the past several years stood out to the planning committee,” said Bill L. Smith, director of the Borah Foundation. “Our slate of distinguished speakers will help us understand the various arenas we should be paying attention to as informed citizens.”

Each year, the Borah Foundation sponsors the Borah Symposium, which strives to bring together world leaders, diplomats, scholars, activists and local communities to discuss the causes of war and the conditions for peace.  

Monday, Sept. 29

• Panel discussion on “The Impacts of Trade Wars on Agricultural Commodities,” moderated by Anna King, correspondent for the Northwest News Network, 7 p.m., Bruce M. Pitman Center International Ballroom
• Panelists: Tim McGreevy, CEO of USA Pulses; Xiaoli Etienne, Idaho Wheat Commission endowed chair in commodity risk management; and Brett Wilder, UI Extension educator in farm business management

Tuesday, Sept. 30

• Renfrew Colloquium: “Great Power Competition in the 21st Century: A View from the Middle East,” presented by visiting scholar Emine Ari, 12:30 p.m., Bruce M. Pitman Center Vandal Ballroom
• Plenary address, presented by Esther D. Brimmer, 7 p.m., Bruce M. Pitman Center International Ballroom

Wednesday, Oct. 1

• Keynote address, presented by K.T. McFarland, 7 p.m., Bruce M. Pitman Center International Ballroom

Additional information is available at uidaho.edu/class/borah.  

Media contact

Romuald K. Afatchao 
Associate director, Martin Institute 
Clinical professor, International Studies 
208-885-5735 
afatchao@uidaho.edu