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The End of the Cold War and the World It Created

PAST EVENT VIDEO
Panel
Anne Applebaum, Jim Baker, Susan Glasser, Fareed Zakaria, Robert Zoellick, and the Council’s Ivo Daalder reflect on the decisions American policymakers made at the end of the Cold War as they guided the country through a period of risk and opportunity.
Speakers
Anne Applebaum
Jim Baker
Ivo H. Daalder
Susan Glasser
Fareed Zakaria
Robert Zoellick
Event Date

About This Event

For decades after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in an ideological and geopolitical competition. The collapse of the Soviet Union, however, transformed international relations and left America as the world’s sole superpower. Debates over the appropriate US role in this new era dominated Council programming, with titans – Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, Colin Powell – crossing the Council stage. For part three of our Century of Global Leadership series, key analysts and leaders consider the legacy of the Cold War and how its end transformed America’s place in the world.

About the Event Series

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2022. For 100 years the Council has guided the way Chicago thinks about its place in the world and how the world engages with Chicago. As we prepare to launch the Council’s second century, we will reflect on key themes and pivotal periods that shaped its first. Join us to hear from leading historians and foreign policy analysts, people who were in the room, and leaders who changed the world.

About the Speakers
Anne Applebaum
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Anne Applebaum
In addition to working at the Atlantic, Anne Applebaum is a senior fellow of the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and a prize-winning historian with expertise in the history of communist and post-communist Europe. She was a Washington Post columnist for 17 years and a former member of the editorial board.
Anne Applebaum
Former United States Secretary of State
James A. Baker III has served in senior government positions under three United States presidents, including as the nation's 61st Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush. During his tenure at the State Department, Baker traveled to 90 foreign countries as the United States confronted the unprecedented challenges and opportunities of the post–Cold War era.
CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Ivo H. Daalder served as the US ambassador to NATO from 2009 to 2013. He joined the Council as president in 2013 and took on the new role of CEO in 2023. Previously, he was a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution and served as director for European affairs on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council. He is the author or editor of 10 books.
Headshot of Ivo H. Daalder
Staff Writer and Columnist, New Yorker
Photo of Susan Glasser
Susan Glasser is a staff writer for The New Yorker and was a founding editor of POLITICO Magazine, where she also served as POLITICO's chief international affairs columnist and host of the podcast "The Global Politico." She's also a global affairs analyst for CNN.
Photo of Susan Glasser
Fareed Zakaria
Journalist and Author
Fareed Zakaria hosts Fareed Zakaria GPS for CNN Worldwide and is a columnist for The Washington Post, a contributing editor for The Atlantic, and a bestselling author. His latest book is Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World (2021).
Former President, World Bank
Robert Zoellick was the president of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012, US Trade representative from 2001 to 2005, and Deputy Secretary of State from 2005 to 2006. From 1985 to 1993, Zoellick served as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of State, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
Century of Global Leadership graphic
Century of Global Leadership This event is part of our Century of Global Leadership series, a four-part event series reflecting on key themes and pivotal periods that have shaped the Council's first century.
Chicago and the World Learn more about Dick Longworth's new book, "Chicago and the World: 100 Years of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs" and the Council's history through archival photos, videos, and more.