“History is back, with a vengeance.”

Jennifer Welsh, who joins the Salt Spring Forum in conversation, delivered this arresting message in her 2016 CBC Massey Lecture, The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century.

With Donald Trump’s attempted entry-ban on individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries, continued violence in the Middle East, Russian authoritarianism and expansionism, deepening economic inequality in the West—there are many causes for serious concern in today’s world.

Jennifer Welsh is the best possible person to help us understand and address the pressing issues of our time. She served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on the “Responsibility to Protect” until 2016. She is currently Professor and Chair in International Relations at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. She is also a Fellow of Somerville College at the University of Oxford and co-founded the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict.

Watch a clip about Jennifer Welsh’s 2016 CBC Massey Lecture, The Return of History: