Competing Visions of World Order After 1945

Author Meets Critics debate - double event

The year 2016 will long be remembered as a time when the global political and economic order was confronted by unexpected new challenges. The decision of a majority of British voters to leave the European Union in June has posed unprecedented existential dilemmas for an institution that for decades has served as a model for successful multilateralism and transnational cooperation. The almost simultaneous arrival of Donald Trump’s political juggernaut in the United States only compounds Europe’s difficulties, with its protectionist rhetoric, avowed Nato scepticism and distinctly anti-EU philosophical bent. This Author Meets Critic-debate presents a timely opportunity to take stock of Europe’s contemporary global predicament by turning to the deeper history of British and American influence in framing the post-war agenda of globalism in the decades after 1945.

At the event two highly relevant books that address this theme from divergent perspectives will be presented and discussed. After the presentations and discussions the debate will be open to questions from the public.

The event is open to all and will be followed by a reception.

Dr. Or Rosenboim  (University of Cambridge) will present her book The Emergence of Globalism: Visions of World Order in Britain and the United States, 1939–1950, followed by remarks by discussant Casper Sylvest (University of Southern Denmark).  

The Emergence of Globalism: Visions of World Order in Britain and the United States, 1939–1950 examines the competing visions of world order that shaped the issues and debates around globalism as a modern political concept, with particular reference to the role of British and American intellectuals in the post-WWII era. The book is due to appear in April 2017 but has already been hailed by Harvard Law School’s Samuel Moyn as ‘the best study ever written on Anglo-American global thought’. 

Prof. A. G. Hopkins (University of Cambridge) will present his forthcoming book American Empire: A Global History (due to be published by Princeton in 2018), followed by remarks by discussant Christian Damm Pedersen (University of Southern Denmark).

Prof. A. G. Hopkins' forthcoming book American Empire: A Global History (due to be published by Princeton in 2018) represents the culmination of a long transatlantic career, examining the formative concept of the collapse of the European colonial order in the mid-20th century as the crucial context for understanding the emergence of Anglo-American globalism in the key decades after 1945. Although Hopkins’ book will not appear until next year, Hopkins will present a preview of part IV of the manuscript: ‘Post-colonial Globalization’ for the purposes of the author meets critics format.

The event is part of the Author meets Critics series and is organized by Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES).