Join Us In Person

You are invited to a conversation with the bestselling author Dr. Eliot Cohen who will discuss the challenges of American foreign and defense policy in a world in which America’s opponents and enemies are, if not allied, increasingly in alignment with one another. After World War I, the United States stepped back from taking a decisive role in maintaining a stable global system; after World War II it stepped up; after the Cold War it stepped forward, with mixed success. Given that its weight in international affairs relative to other countries is less, and its own internal divisions, what can the United States do? What should it do? And what are the prospects for a world as torn and divided as the one that Woodrow Wilson attempted, with only mixed success, to master?

Sit down with this noted political commentator to hear his perspective on the next frontier of American policies in an increasingly globalized society. The conversation and Q&A will be moderated by Ambassador Joel Danies, a member of Wilson House's Advisory Council.

Eliot A. Cohen is the Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C.

In July 2024, he became professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) after teaching there since 1990 and serving as the school’s 9th Dean. He received his BA and PhD degrees from Harvard and taught there and at the U.S. Naval War College before coming to SAIS. His books include, most recently, "The Hollow Crown: Shakespeare on How Leaders Rise, Rule and Fall," as well as "The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force," "Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battle Along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War," "Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime," and other works on national security policy and military history.

He served in the US Army Reserve, was a director in the Defense Department’s policy planning staff, led the US Air Force’s multi-volume study of the first Gulf War, and has served in various official advisory positions. In 2007-2009, he was Counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleezza Rice’s senior adviser, focusing chiefly on issues of war and peace, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

He is a contributing writer at "The Atlantic," and his commentary has also appeared in "The Washington Post," "The Wall Street Journal," "The New York Times," and on major television networks in the United States and abroad.

Duration

Program is 60 minutes | Doors open at 6pm

Admission

$20 per person
Registration required - Limited seating.