What defines a nation, or a state? What’s the meaning of sovereignty, and how do communal or religious identity figure into demands for self-determination? The world community in 2016 appears to be a fractured place with aspirations to statehood like those we’ve seen in South Sudan and Palestine, as well as civil disruptions and realignments like those between Crimea, Ukraine, and Russia. Amidst all of this there are non-state actors like ISIS challenging sitting governments and established states. The 2016 Provost’s Global Forum, The Nation, the State, and the Global Redefinition of Self-Determination, will address these questions and more during a series of lectures and panel discussions on October 13-15. A highlight of the forum will be the October 15 WorldCanvass, which will be held for the first time in Des Moines at the John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center, from 5-6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and begins with a reception at 4 p.m.

Leaders from the University of Iowa and the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs gathered in Des Moines earlier this month to sign an agreement that creates an externship program abroad for UI law students. The externship is available to any UI law student who has completed at least one year of law school, takes place at the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs and involves international law research.

A unique law course has created an opportunity for Iowa students to build relationships with their counterparts on the other side of the world. The Selected Topics in Comparative Law Seminar — offered by the University of Iowa College of Law this spring — invited Iowa students to compare U.S. and Russian Law in collaboration with students taking a parallel course in Russia.