As the U.S. and the world struggle to surmount the twin health and economic disasters sparked by COVID-19—and as forward-looking leaders contemplate how to avoid making similar mistakes in future crises—join the Belfer Center’s Applied History Project for an open session of our Applied History Working Group. Its members—distinguished historians and public servants—study the past to illuminate the most pressing challenges we face today.

Niall Ferguson and Graham Allison, co-directors of the Belfer Center’s Applied History Project, will discuss “Cold War II” between the U.S. and China.  

Ten years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Stanford University’s Niall Ferguson joins Harvard University’s Graham Allison to discuss the lessons of financial history. 

Graham Allison discusses his new book, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) in Palo Alto, CA.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host a Director's Lunch with Belfer Center Senior Faculty Fellow Niall Ferguson in the Belfer Library (L369).

Niall Ferguson is a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford, and a Senior Fellow of the Center for European Studies, Harvard; as well as a Senior Faculty Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is also a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation Distinguished Scholar at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.

Is China serious about replacing the U.S. as the dominant power in Asia in the foreseeable future? Could Americans accept becoming No. 2? How will Trump’s vow to “Make America Great Again” impact this epic rivalry? Could a trade conflict or accidental collision in the South China Sea cascade into war? Is war between Washington and Beijing inevitable?

To answer these provocative questions, please join Graham Allison, Niall Ferguson, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, and S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations Arne Westad for a JFK Jr. Forum at 6:00 pm on March 22nd. This event is open to the public.