Helsinki Final Act at 50: Relevant, or Relic? (09/18/25)
Join us for a panel discussion with former senior US diplomat and OSCE official Douglas Wake and international relations scholar Ida Manton. Both have extensive professional experience working with the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE is the guardian of the Helsinki Charter, the world’s largest regional security arrangement. Also participating is Igor Lukes, University Professor and Professor of History and International Relations Emeritus at the Pardee School of Global Studies. The event will be moderated by Ambassador Vesko Garčević, Director of the Center for the Study of Europe and Professor of the Practice of International Relations.
Thursday, September 18 • 12:30 to 2 PM
Pardee School of Global Studies, 121 Bay State Road
Douglas Wake has worked over four decades as a diplomat and international civil servant on multilateral cooperation, human rights, democracy, the rule of law, sustainable economic development, conflict management, and European security. He served with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as Deputy Head of Mission in Belgrade (2004-06), First Deputy Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw (2009-13) and strategic policy expert in Vienna (2018-21). Doug has participated in many OSCE/ODIHR election missions, including as Head of Mission in Uzbekistan, Poland, Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Moldova, and Armenia. Doug was previously a United States diplomat in posts that included Stockholm, New York, Leningrad, Yangon, Riga, Moscow and Washington.
Ida Manton is a trainer and scholar in the field of negotiations, mediation and conflict resolution. She works with diplomats, military staff, public service officials, students and business people at various Diplomatic Academies, MFAs, OSCE field operations, Secretariats, Universities, business training centers and companies. Her professional engagement includes mainly work in International Organizations (Peace Corps, NATO, OSCE) in the fields of languages, culture, democratization, minority rights, public relations and governance.
Igor Lukes is University Professor and Professor of International Relations and History Emeritus at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies. A scholar of Central Europe, his publications deal with the interwar period, the Cold War, and contemporary developments in East Central Europe and Russia.
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