Town Hall: William Burke-White – “The Five Most Powerful People in the World”

William Burke-White holds both a bachelor’s and law degree from Harvard  University, and a doctorate in international relations from Cambridge University where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania and Inaugural Director of Penn’s International Affairs Institute’s Perry World House. Burke-White was a White House advisor and policy planner during the Obama administration and has written extensively in the fields of international law and institutions. In his presentation, he calls on us to question who the real influencers are on the world. Who makes the decisions that determine war and peace, and economic growth or stagnation, etc.? How are globalization, technology, and economic interdependence changing the ways we should think about power and influence? Burke-White will discuss five individuals, some expected, others perhaps unexpected or even unknown, who are directing global affairs today.