Today @ Noon ET - Book Talk | Imperial Realism

What does it feel like to live in a moment in which it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of the US Empire? In Imperialist Realism, historian and QI non-resident fellow Daniel Bessner explores how Americans have come to accept their global empire not because they believe in its righteousness but because they believe no alternative to U.S. hegemony is possible.

Annelle Sheline, research fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute, will host Bessner to discuss how cultural artifacts and public figures, from “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War” to Barack Obama, offer insights into modern empire and liberalism, and whether we can transcend the paradigm of imperialist realism.
September 2026

9
12:00 PM ET
Sign up today!
REGISTER
Join us for a timely and important discussion with:

Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute and the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Associate Professor in American Foreign Policy in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He is the author of “Democracy in Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual” (Cornell, 2018)

Annelle Sheline (Moderator) 

Annelle Sheline is a research fellow in the Middle East program. She previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s Office of Near Eastern Affairs (DRL/NEA), before resigning in March 2024 in protest over the Biden administration’s unconditional support for Israeli military operations in Gaza.
DONATE

© Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
2000 Pennsylvania Ave NW, #7000, Washington D.C., 20006

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.