On September 11, 2025, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, in partnership with the Inter-American Defense College [IADC], launched the International Relations and the Inter-American System [IRIS] course as part of the Master of Science [MS] and Diploma in Inter-American Defense and Security offered by the IADC. Over the next six weeks, 66 participants from 18 countries will engage in an intensive program designed to explore the history, institutions, and contemporary challenges across the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Perry Center Director Dr. Paul J. Angelo and Major General Richard Heitkamp, Director of the IADC, delivered welcome remarks to participants.

“The most valuable thing you will take away from your time here is this network—a force of leaders who turn theory into practice and purpose into action,” said Dr. Angelo. “On a day like today, September 11, I cannot help but reflect on the relevance of those tragic attacks on our nation to the shifting international order, a moment in time that shaped my own decision and the decisions of so many others of my generation to devote our lives to the defense of the homeland and hemisphere.”

Coordinated by Perry Center Professor Dr. Arturo Sotomayor, the IRIS program will address themes such as foreign policy traditions, conflict and arms control in the Americas, the evolution of multilateralism and the inter-American system, regional trade and integration, and US leadership in regional security and defense strategies.

Through lectures, practitioner-led discussions, and peer-to-peer exchanges, the course aims to provide participants with the conceptual foundations and practical insights necessary to analyze both historical legacies and today’s pressing regional challenges. By combining academic rigor with real-world perspectives, IRIS sets the stage for a collaborative learning experience that will strengthen understanding of the Inter-American system and encourage dialogue across the Hemisphere.