From the war on terror to the war for Ukraine

Professor Samuel Moyn delivers the RSE MacCormick event from a US perspective on how the war in Ukraine transformed public perception and mounted pressure to contain great power.

The posture of the West, weary of the ‘endless war’ on terror after twenty years, shifted dramatically in early 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This event will reflect from a US perspective on how the Russia-Ukraine war transformed public discourse and increased pressure to contain great-power war – bolstering it in some ways while setting it back in others.

“Great power” was initially used to describe the most influential powers in Europe during the post-Napoleonic era. Great powers are states with shared global interests, international influence and military strength to protect them from adversaries.

Professor Samuel Moyn teaches law and history at Yale University. He is the author of books on human rights, most recently Humane: How the Merged States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War.

Each year the RSE invites a prominent figure to deliver a speech on a matter of international importance known as the RSE MacCormick event. The event is named in honour of Professor Sir Neil MacCormick FRSE in recognition of his contribution to Scottish and European politics and his international work for the RSE.

All are welcome to the RSE’s signature events, designed to educate and encourage new thinking, ideas and conversations. This event aims to amplify the RSE’s mission of ‘knowledge made useful’ by enhancing our understanding of national and global scientific, cultural and economic topics.