The History of American Isolationism with Charles Kupchan: Thurs. Feb. 11

Join the John W. Kluge Center for a discussion of the evolution of U.S. statecraft with Charles Kupchan, author of a new book, Isolationism: A History of America’s Effort to Shield Itself from the World.

In the book, Kupchan traces isolationism across the full arc of U.S. history, from the founding era through the present.  He explores the ideological sources of America’s aversion to foreign entanglement, how and why that aversion gave way to global engagement beginning with World War II, and why isolationist sentiment has been making a comeback more recently. In conversation with Kluge Center Director John Haskell, Kupchan discusses the merits as well as the downsides of the nation’s isolationist and internationalist traditions. Their conversation also addresses the implications of Kupchan’s historical analysis for U.S. statecraft and global affairs moving forward.

The event will be released on February 11, at 1pm. Watch the event on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.

Charles Kupchan is Professor of International Affairs in the School of Foreign Service and Government Department at Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2014 to 2017 Kupchan served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs on the National Security Council. Kupchan is a former Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Kluge Center. He is the author of numerous books, including No One’s World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn (2012), and How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace (2010).