The Russian aggression against Ukraine began at a time when global tension was already running high.  

 

What will the effects of the war be on relations between the United States and China, a relationship deemed by many to be key to future peace and stability? Will the Chinese leadership continue its de facto backing of Russia?  And will Russia’s leaders accept a subservient relationship to China as a price they have to pay for the war?

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In this talk, Professor Westad discussed these issues in light of lessons from history.

 

Odd Arne Westad is Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University and the author of The Cold War: A World History. Originally from Ålesund on the Norwegian coast, he studied history, philosophy, and modern languages in Oslo before doing a graduate degree in U.S./international history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Westad has published 16 books, most of which deal with 20th century Asian and global history. Westad joined the faculty at Yale after teaching at the London School of Economics (LSE), where he was School Professor of International History, and at Harvard University, where he was the S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations. At Yale, he teaches in the History Department and at the Jackson School for Global Affairs. Westad is a fellow of the British Academy and of several other national academies, a visiting professor at Peking University, and a research associate of the Harvard Fairbank Center.

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Moderation: Ambassador Eric Nelson, Associate Director of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. With over 30 years in diplomatic service, Eric has served as U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina (2019-2022) and is a member of the United States Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. Amongst his many previous postings are Director of the Office of eDiplomacy in the Bureau of Information Resources Management, Deputy Chief of Mission in Costa Rica and Consul General in Munich. As an Ambassador-in-Residence, Eric contributes a Department of State perspective to the Marshall Center’s mission.

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Follow Professor Westad's work:

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website: https://jackson.yale.edu/person/arne-westad/

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Selected books:

Empire and Righteous Nation, 600 Years of China-Korea Relations (2021)

The Cold War: A World History (2017)

Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 (2012)

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