Whether or not it was "the most important and consequential in American history," as both the major candidates and many observers had claimed, this year's volatile U.S. presidential election has concluded and will return former President Donald Trump to the White House in January.
Amidst intense partisan clashes, deep political polarization, and an overwhelming flow of information, voters remained sharply divided to the last minute on many key issues, with some feeling that the future of democracy hung in the balance. Trump's margin over Kamala Harris was greater than most had predicted. Thoughtful analysis and bitter recrimination have both begun.
Eight days after the election, an international panel of experts and commentators gathered virtually for an erudite and thoughtful examination of the potential consequences, in the United States and around the world.
This event was co-sponsored by the Free Speech Project (Georgetown University) and the Future of the Humanities Project (Georgetown University and Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall, Oxford).
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John Battle served as a Labour Party politician in Parliament for Leeds West from 1987 to 2010, and was a Cabinet minister in the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. He now chairs the justice and peace commission of the Diocese of Leeds. Battle served as Minister of State for Trade and Industry from 1997 to 1999, and as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1999 to 2001. He is a fellow at Leeds Trinity University and Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.
Ambassador (ret.) Barbara K. Bodine spent over 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, focusing on Arabian Peninsula and greater Persian Gulf issues, specifically U.S. bilateral and regional policy, strategic security issues, counterterrorism, and governance and reform. Presently, she serves as distinguished professor in the practice of diplomacy and director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.
E.J. Dionne Jr. writes about politics in a weekly column for the Washington Post. He is also a government professor at Georgetown University, a visiting professor at Harvard University, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, and a frequent commentator on politics for NPR and MSNBC. His book Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country (2020) was published by St. Martin’s Press.
Susan Eisenhower, a policy analyst with a focus on national security, leads the Eisenhower Group. She was co-founder and chair emeritus at the Eisenhower Institute. She serves on MIT’s energy initiative advisory board and formerly co-chaired the nuclear energy advisory committee for the U.S. secretary of energy. In 1998, she was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences committee on international security and arms control. She has authored hundreds of columns and written five books, including her most recent How Ike Led: the Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions (2020).
Elan Closs Stephens serves as the electoral commissioner for Wales. She is an emeritus professor of communications and creative industries and pro-chancellor at Aberystwyth University. With extensive experience as a chair and non-executive specializing in broadcasting, cultural policy, and governance of public bodies, she has been a member of the BBC Board for the past 13 years, where she chaired its commercial holdings. She previously held the role of acting chair of the BBC.
Michael Scott (moderator) is senior dean, fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, college adviser for postgraduate students, and a member of the Las Casas Institute. He also serves as senior adviser to the president of Georgetown University. Scott previously was the pro-vice-chancellor at De Montfort University and founding vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University.
Sanford J. Ungar (moderator), president emeritus of Goucher College, is director of the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University, which documents challenges to free expression in American education, government, and civil society. Director of the Voice of America under President Bill Clinton, he was also dean of the American University School of Communication and is a former co-host of All Things Considered on NPR.