ABOUT THE EVENT: The vast majority of people alive today have come of age in a world of remarkable stability, presided over by either one or two superpowers. That is not to say the world has been peaceful; but it has, to a great extent, been predictable. As an increasing number of great powers jostle for regional supremacy, as well as competitive advantage in nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration, and trade, our world has become more fragile, unpredictable – and combustible. The outbreak of global war among today’s great powers seems increasingly likely. Such a war, as Odd Arne Westad powerfully argues in this urgent book, would be of a magnitude and level of devastation never before seen.

To understand the threats that face us in this complex new terrain, we must look to the lessons of the past, and especially the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – a time when Great Powers clashed and sought regional dominance, nationalism and populism were on the rise, and many felt that globalisation had failed them; a time when tariffs increased, immigration and terrorism were among the biggest issues of the day, and a growing number of people blamed the citizens of other countries for their problems. A time, in other words, that carries eerie parallels with our own.

The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History will be published on March 3, and may be ordered in advance.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Odd Arne Westad is a Norwegian scholar of modern international and global history, with a specialisation in the history of Eastern Asia since the 18th century. His most recent book (with Chen Jian) is The Great Transformation: China’s Road from Revolution to Reform (2024). His new book, The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History, will be published in March 2026.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR: Nicholas Burns is the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Burns worked in the United States government for over three decades. During his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2021 to 2025, Burns helped to stabilise US-China relations amid tensions.