John A. Thompson (St Catharine’s College London) and David Milne (East Anglia) – To understand the contemporary state of American foreign policy, it is vital to turn to the origins of the nation’s global role in the twentieth century. This event will bring two eminent scholars of US foreign relations – John A. Thompson and David Milne – into conversation about this topic. They will discuss the conditions that allowed America to emerge as a global power before and after the Second World War, as well as the ways that significant intellectuals and policymakers, from Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama, have understood the diplomatic process. In doing so, they will provide an engaging and dynamic discussion of the past and present of US foreign policy history.

John A. Thompson is an Emeritus Fellow at St Catharine’s College London and an expert on the history of US foreign relations. In 2015 he published A Sense of Power: The Roots of America’s Global Role with Cornell University Press.

David Milne is a Senior Lecture in the School of History at the University of East Anglia. His book Worldmaking: The Art and Science of American Diplomacy was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2015.

Attendance is free of charge but registration is required. IMPORTANT NOTE ON ACCESS TO 51 GORDON SQUARE: in order to ensure a smooth delivery of the lecture and for ease of logistics, access to the building may be restricted after the start of the event. We will endeavour to accommodate late arrivals within our possibilities, but an early arrival is recommended to avoid disappointment.