
Arne Westad: Why Today Looks Like 1914
From The Trialogue by Peter Slezkine
May 22, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 51
About this episode
Arne Westad discusses his book The Coming Storm and the parallels between today's world and the pre-World War I era.
Deck: Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, joins the Trialogue to discuss his new book The Coming Storm, why the world today resembles the years before World War I more than the Cold War, what roles the U.S., China, India, and Russia are playing in this dangerous drama, and whether the fires burning from Ukraine to the South China Sea can be kept from merging into a global conflagration. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to stay updated with the latest episodes! *The Trialogue Podcast is hosted by the Stimson Center and produced by University FM.
People in this episode
Host: Peter Slezkine
Guest: Arne Westad
Topics covered
- history
- global affairs
- international relations
- U.S. foreign policy
- China
- Russia
- India
Keywords
- Arne Westad
- The Coming Storm
- World War I
- Cold War
- U.S.
- China
- Russia
- India
- global conflict
- international relations
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Yale University, Stimson Center, University FM
Places: Ukraine, South China Sea
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