The Perry Center congratulates the Defense Strategic Management and Crisis Management Course (CEDEYAC) on its 15th anniversary. Dr. Luis Bitencourt, on behalf of the Perry Center, participated in anniversary celebrations and the graduation of the 30th CEDEYAC course on October 27, 2016. The ceremony was held in Lima, Peru. CEDEYAC was the 2007 winner of the William J. Perry Award and is widely recognized as a leader in promoting security and defense education in the Americas.

The following day Dr. Luis Bitencourt spoke about “Challenges to Building a Defense Policy” at the first International Meeting on Security and Defense. Hosted by Peru’s Center for Advanced National Studies (CAEN), the meeting attracted over 700 experts from the Americas, Europe, and Asia, to discuss the theme, “A Global Approach to Thinking About Multidimensional Security.” In his remarks, Dr. Bitencourt analyzed four categories of defense policy challenges: substance, politics, legitimacy, and implementation. He later took questions from the audience.