After more than 30 years, the U.S. last week called for an end to the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, with an American withdrawal, followed sharply by a Russian withdrawal. What does this mean for nuclear proliferation and future arms-race escalation? What was the untold story that led to the historic treaty signed in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev?

Flashback to Reykjavik in 1986: George Shultz, the U.S. Secretary of State at the time, said that it was “the poker game with the highest stakes ever played.” It was the last time the world had a chance to do away entirely with nuclear weapons. Join us as journalist Guillaume Serina unfolds the behind-the-scenes story of this remarkable summit conference - the first exploration of recently-available archives of both sides—top-secret archives of the Kremlin and the personal papers of Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as the archives of Ronald Reagan. Serina offers an important examination of our fragile present and a perhaps precarious future. With unilateral abrogation of the intermediate range nuclear missile (INF) treaty now a reality, Serina offers fresh perspective and context, as the world stands once again poised on the edge of a potential new arms race.

Guillaume Serina, a historian and graduate of the Sorbonne, is currently the outreach coordinator for the International School of Los Angeles. An experienced journalist, he has covered three U.S. presidential elections for several European media and has published five books in French, including the first French-language biography of Barack Obama. He lives in Los Angeles, California

A special menu with mini hors d'oeuvres, beer, and wine or coffee will be available for purchase. Special thanks for Honorary Consul for France Dominique Geulin, of St. Honoré, for hosting this special evening.

Cosponsored with Alliance Française de Portland

Seating is limited registration required

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