Michael Mandelbaum

The Christian A. Herter Professor of American Foreign Policy at The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, he is the author or co-author of 10 books. His classic, The Ideas That Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-First Century, has been translated into seven languages, including Chinese and Arabic.

“The purpose of the book," says Mandelbaum, "was to provide a framework for understanding all of the international issues of the 21st century, from globalization to terrorism, from Chinese succession politics to Latin American economic crises." The Financial Times called it “a brilliant book" and Tom Friedman praised it as "important and compelling."

Mandelbaum writes a regular column for Newsday. His analyses of global challenges are informed by his experience with the U.S. government. He served in the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, working on national security issues. For 22 years he has served as Associate Director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Project, working with leaders of Congress and exposing them to the latest thinking on American foreign policy.

In 2004 Mandelbaum published The Meaning of Sports, described by Pete Hamill in The New York Times as "a subtle extension of Mandelbaum's own expertise in foreign policy. It can help explain the United States to the rest of the often-baffled world.” His other books include The Fate of Nations, The Global Rivals and The Nuclear Future.

His new book, The Case for Goliath: How America Acts as the World's Government in the 21st Century (January 2006), is a provocative, eye-opening look at America's global role, the responsibilities it has undertaken, and the challenges it faces. Mandelbaum argues that "American power helps to make other countries more secure and, by keeping the international economy working smoothly, also makes others more prosperous than they otherwise would be." The New York Review of Books described The Case For Goliath as "an eloquent statement of the vital role of America in twenty-first-century global security."

Your presentation and the discussion that followed were a model of what these meetings seek to offer, namely informed, incisive exchanges of views on key issues. This particular exchange was memorable.

JP Morgan Chase 

Mandelbaum was educated at Yale University, Cambridge and Harvard. He has contributed op-ed pieces to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. From 1986 - 2004, he was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he also ran the Project on East-West Relations. The World Affairs Councils of America named him one of the most influential people in American foreign policy.

In his speeches, Mandelbaum expertly blends commentary on politics and economics with an illuminating global view. He has been a frequent guest on NPR and TV programs such as Face The Nation, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The NewsHour, Larry King Live, Charlie Rose, C-SPAN, and Nightline.