U.S. officials have recently derided Europe as an anachronistic, weak ally. Is this an accurate assessment? Europe’s role in world affairs is the topic of this year’s Camden Conference, the annual symposium on international issues. The conference, which begins Friday, will examine the continent’s role in a changing world.

Speakers, including diplomats and professors, will discuss Europe’s internal challenges, such as the entry of former Communist countries into the European Union, as well as the tensions between the United States’ military-focused, unilateral approach and the traditional European multilateralism.

Keynote speaker, David J. Calleo, Dean Acheson professor and director of European studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, will open the conference with his view on the divergent U.S.-European approach. In a recent paper, professor Calleo wrote that continued U.S. antagonism of Muslims is likely to affect Europe, given its proximity to Muslim countries, more than the United States. “The cost of some deep and permanent alienation with the Arab world is likely to weigh very heavily on Europe’s future,” he wrote.

By bringing different, and sometimes new, perspectives to international affairs, the Camden Conference continues its tradition of helping Maine residents, and those who come from hundreds of miles away for the annual symposium, make sense of news reports about events around the world.

Because of its popularity, the conference, now in its 20th year, has expanded. It’s main venue, the Camden Opera House, is already sold out for Saturday and Sunday’s sessions. The lectures and subsequent discussion will be broadcast to a satellite venue, the recently renovated Strand Theatre in Rockland.

The fact that such a discussion happens each year in midcoast Maine is a testament to the region’s willingness to discuss and understand complex and often controversial issues. The fact that such a conference, featuring international experts, is open to the public is extraordinary. To broaden its reach, book discussions, film series, college courses and an energy forum are held in communities from Blue Hill to Cushing before this weekend’s conference.

For more information about the conference, visit www.camdenconference.org, or call 236-1034.