Message from the Executive Director

This semester, the Weatherhead Center took the show on the road—literally! In an effort to increase our Center’s visibility beyond the Harvard campus, we participated in the first “Harvard Alumni Summit: Middle East and Africa,” held mid-January in Cairo. The conference was jointly organized by twelve alumni clubs in the region, and attended by over two hundred alums from over thirty countries. We also sponsored two book presentations outside of Cambridge, both featuring Faculty Associate Sven Beckert’s latest publication, Capitalism: A Global History. Read more about these spring events in London and New York City. 

Back home in February, we held our annual Jodidi Lecture, which featured Dr. Atul Gawande, Samuel O. Thier Professor of the Practice of Surgery at the Harvard Medical School and assistant administrator for global health at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from January 2022 to January 2025. The talk, titled “The Mechanics of Public Man-Made Death: USAID’s Destruction at One Year,” was a sobering reflection on the dismantling of USAID and the consequences that are reverberating around the world—including those that are impossible to calculate. Read excerpts from his talk in this issue's feature article, and watch the lecture video on our YouTube channel. 

We hosted two online Weatherhead Forum panels this semester, spanning history from the founding of the United States to the implications of artificial intelligence on contemporary foreign policy. In honor of the semiquincentennial, at our March panel, speakers reflected on the role of the revolution and the influence of the US Declaration of Independence on other nations. In January, our Forum event discussed the role of AI in foreign policy. Panelists explored how artificial intelligence is reshaping global decision making and diplomatic strategy, and outlined the opportunities and risks that AI presents as governments increasingly rely on data-driven tools. 

Besides our own events, the Weatherhead Center continues to prioritize collaborations with other research centers. In late March we cohosted with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies a halfday symposium on “Rethinking the Global Order: Latin America, China, and the U.S. Amid Transforming Economic and Political Paradigms.”  

Another collaboration, this time with the Minda da Gunzburg Center for European Studies and the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, culminated in two separate events to mark thirty years after the ratification of the Dayton Accords. These events brought together scholars and practitioners to revisit the wartime and diplomatic origins of the Dayton agreement, the peace treaty that ended the three-and-a-half-year Bosnian War. 

Finally, our annual International Book Blitz was a wonderful way to end the semester. In early May, five of our affiliates and alums gave seven-minute speed talks on their new publications, followed by an end-of-year reception. We encourage you to watch these speed talks on our YouTube channel! 

After a long and snowy winter—and a busy start to spring—we are thrilled to welcome warmer days ahead. As always, we extend our gratitude to all our faculty, students, visitors, and staff in making the Weatherhead Center a haven for all. 

Erin Goodman
Executive Director