Category Archives: Meetings

Mackinder Forum Seminar #46: Professor Paul Rahe, “Carthage Can Now Defeat Rome”

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On December 19, 2021, Professor Paul Rahe addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “Carthage Can Now Defeat Rome.” Abstract: In 1890, when Alfred Thayer Mahan published The Influence of Seapower on History, he made no mention of Thucydides and barely touched on the great struggle between Athens and Sparta that the… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #45: “Reassessing the Second World War in Terms of Geopolitics” by Sean McMeekin

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On December 5, 2021, 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Eastern US Time, Professor Sean McMeekin addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “Reassessing the Second World War in Terms of Geopolitics.” Abstract: World War II endures in the popular imagination as a heroic struggle between good and evil, with Adolf Hitler driving the… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #43: “Prediction, Policy, and International Relations Theories” by Joseph Grieco

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On Sunday, November 7, 1:30-3:00 pm Eastern US Time, Professor Joe Grieco addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “Prediction, Policy, and International Relations Theories.” ABSTRACT: How can the field of International Relations (IR) make a useful contribution to decision-making and public discourse on foreign policy? We in IR often wish… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #42: “Is There Genuine Strategic Utility in ‘Knowing Thyself'”? by Jeannie Johnson

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On October 30, 2021, Professor Jeannie Johnson addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “Is There Genuine Strategic Utility in ‘Knowing Thyself’”? Abstract: Strategic culture theorists often cite Sun Tzu’s dictum to Know Thyself and Know Thy Enemy as something close to sacred verse. Those same theorists, however, do not always… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #41: “Heartland vs Rimland, Continental vs Maritime Power: The Geopolitics of the First World War” by Hew Strachan

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On October 10, 2021, 1:30-3:00 p.m. Eastern US Time, Professor Hew Strachan addressed the Mackinder Forum on “Heartland vs Rimland, Continental vs Maritime Power: The Geopolitics of the First World War”. ABSTRACT: When Halford Mackinder gave his famous lecture on the geopolitics of ‘Euro-Asia’ in 1904, he warned of the challenge that the… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #40: Professor Michael Desch, “Will the Real(ist) Thucydides Please Stand Up?”

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On Sunday, September 26, 2021, Professor Michael Desch presented a paper entitled “Will the Real(its) Thucydides Please Stand Up? Reading Restraint at the Heart of the Paradigm’s Ur-text to Avert the Thucydides Trap with China.” BIOGRAPHY:  Michael C. Desch is Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations at the University… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #39: Professor Sumit Ganguly, “India, Pakistan and China after the Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan”

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On September 12, 2021, 1:30-3:00 p.m. (Eastern US time), Professor Sumit Ganguly addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “India, Pakistan and China after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.” Biography: Sumit Ganguly is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and holds the Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #38: Dr. William Ruger on “America’s Afghanistan Withdrawal and the Future of US Grand Strategy.”

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On August 20, 2021, Dr. William Ruger addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on “”America’s Afghanistan Withdrawal and the Future of US Grand Strategy.” BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Ruger was nominated by President Trump to be the ambassador to Afghanistan. His biography may be found here:https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/about-fulbright/fulbright-foreign-scholarship-board-ffsb/ffsb-members/william-ruger. ABSTRACT: As the U.S. withdraws militarily from… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #37: Dr. Louis Halewood, “‘Peace Throughout the Oceans and Seas of the World’: British Maritime Strategic Thought and World Order, 1892-1919”

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On August 8, 2021 at 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, US), Dr. Louis Halewood presented a talk on “‘Peace Throughout the Oceans and Seas of the World’: British Maritime Strategic Thought and World Order, 1892-1919.” BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT: Louis Halewood is the Philip Nicholas Lecturer in Maritime History at the… Read more »

Mackinder Forum Seminar #36: Professor Andrew Latham, “The State, War and the State of War in Medieval Europe.”

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Professor Andrew Latham, Macalester College, addressed the Mackinder Forum Seminar on July 31, 2021, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm Eastern US time. His topic: “The State, War and the State of War in Medieval Europe.” Abstract: When it comes to warfare in the Middle Ages, the common belief is that… Read more »