event

Ralph Bunche and the Making of the Modern World

Wed. February 1st, 2023
Washington, DC and Live Online

Ralph Bunche was a towering diplomat, scholar, and civil rights advocate who transformed world order and America’s global role in the twentieth century. Raised in humble circumstances in the era of Jim Crow, he rose to become one of the most famous Americans of his generation, a counselor to presidents and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. As an architect of the United Nations and later a senior UN official, Bunche accelerated the pace of decolonization, helped invent UN peacekeeping, and exposed the chasm between U.S. support for human rights abroad and enduring racial discrimination at home.

Join us for a conversation on Bunche’s remarkable life and enduring legacy with UCLA professor Kal Raustiala, professor at UCLA and author of the recently-released biography, The Absolutely Indispensable Man: Ralph Bunche, the United Nations, and the Fight to End Empire

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Lise Morjé Howard

Lise Morjé Howard is a senior scholar in residence with USIP’s Russia and Ukraine team for the 2022-23 academic year. She is a tenured professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University and president of the Academic Council on the United Nations System.

Stewart Patrick

Senior Fellow and Director, Global Order and Institutions Program

Stewart Patrick is a senior fellow and director of the Global Order and Institutions Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary areas of research focus are the shifting foundations of world order, the future of American internationalism, and the requirements for effective multilateral cooperation on transnational challenges.

Kal Raustiala

Kal Raustiala is the Promise Institute distinguished professor of Comparative and International Law at UCLA Law School, professor at the UCLA International Institute, and director of the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations.

Christopher Shell

Fellow, American Statecraft Program

Christopher Shell is a fellow in the American Statecraft Program at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.