Events
Why We Botch the Ends of Wars
October 03, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
A persistent theme in American history in wartime is a failure to plan carefully for the aftermath of wars. Obsessed with the military aspects of their struggles, neither military nor civilian leaders pay close attention to political issues until the shooting is about to stop, making the achievement of a durable settlement dramatically harder.
Dag Hammarskjold, His Critics, and the United Nations in 1956
September 26, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Wm. Roger Louis from the University of Texas discusses the extremely significant role of Dag Hammarskjold in the 1956 Suez Crisis, a pivotal point in UN history with an impact still felt in today's peacekeeping missions.
"Rogue States" and the United States: A Historical Perspective
September 19, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Vice President for Programs and Director of International Security Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center Robert Litwak answers some of the biggest questions surrounding the relationship between today's "Rogue States" (North Korea, Libya, Iran) and the United States.
“Rogue States” and the United States: An Historical Perspective
September 19, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
What are the implications for the ongoing challenges to international order and American security posed by states such as Iran and North Korea? How can states that egregiously violate international norms be reintegrated into the “family” or “community” of nations?
Iran 1953 and the Uses of Middle East History
September 12, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Former New York Times Istanbul Bureau Chief Stephen Kinzer ties together the events of the 1953 Iranian Coup, the evolution of present-day Iran and Turkey and the upheaval of today's "Arab Spring."
Book Discussion: After Leaning to One Side: China and Its Allies in the Cold War
August 15, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar Shen Zhihua will discuss his latest book, After Leaning to One Side: China and Its Allies in the Cold War.
The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers
July 13, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
The Wars of Afghanistan offers perspective on how Afghanistan's history as a "shatter zone" for foreign invaders and its tribal society have shaped the modern Afghan narrative. It brings to life the misinformed secret operations by foreign intelligence agencies, including the Soviet NKVD and KGB, the Pakistani ISI, and the CIA.
Death and Redemption: The Gulag and the Shaping of Soviet Society
May 19, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Death and Redemption examines the Gulag's role defining the border between reintegration into society and permanent removal through death. Steven Barnes focuses on Kazakhstan's Karaganda region, a location that hosted a number of Soviet detention institutions, and suggests that the Gulag should be construed as a "corrective facility," which gave its occupants a final chance to prove themselves through forced labor. Those who succeeded returned home after years of brutal, forced labor; the ones who "failed" died. Barnes traces the evolution of the Gulag from its origins post-1917, immediately following the Russian Revolution up to the death of Stalin in 1953. The author draws on recently declassified materials from Russia and Kazakhstan, including memoirs of survivors, to show that the Gulag as an institution remained closely linked to the Soviet idea of creating an utopian socialist society.
From Historian to Incidental Diplomat: The Writing of History Before and After Participating in its Making
May 18, 2011 // 2:30pm — 3:30pm
Former deputy foreign minister and negotiator for Armenia Gerard J. Libaridian will present a talk entitled From Historian to Incidental Diplomat: The Writing of History Before and After Participating in its Making drawing extensively on his own experience and revelations as a diplomat for Armenia and as a historian of Armenian foreign policy.
The Invention of Ecocide
May 12, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
As the American public began to question the war in Vietnam, a group of scientists deeply concerned about their government's use of Agent Orange and other herbicides started a movement to ban what they called "ecocide."
U.S. Deptartment of State Historian David Zierler in his latest book entitled The Invention of Ecocide, traces this movement, from the 1940s, when weed killer was developed in agricultural circles and when theories of counterinsurgency were studied by the military.