Despite sustained diplomatic attention from the United States, the African Union, the United Nations, and other actors, the civil war and genocide in Darfur show no sign of abating. While Secretary of State Colin Powell's 2004 diagnosis of genocide has been borne out by subsequent events, the local and regional political aspects of the conflict have received less attention. A successful political solution to the crisis in Darfur will likely have to take rebel movements in Chad and the Central African Republic into account, and address attempts at mutual destabilization by Sudan and Chad. In addition, because China's investments in Sudan and its close political relationship with the Sudanese government have received greater scrutiny, the Darfur conflict has become the clearest test case of whether China is willing to embrace the role of "responsible stakeholder" in the international system.

Alex de Waal, Harvard University and the Social Science Research Council; René Lemarchand, University of Florida; Louisa Lombard, Duke University; and James C. Swan, U.S. Department of State will discuss these and other topics at this AEI event. AEI's Mauro De Lorenzo will moderate.