The Henry A. Kissinger Center at Johns Hopkins SAIS announces founding membership in the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy
MEDIA ADVISORY
The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) today announced its founding membership in the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). Generously supported by the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit, AJI is a collaborative effort between the foundation and a four-university transatlantic consortium jointly established by the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Grand Strategy in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, the Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at SAIS, and the Center for Statecraft and Political Communication at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Over the next four years, AJI will help train and mentor the next generation of historically-minded scholars and practitioners in statecraft, diplomacy, and strategy by supporting the research and scholarly development of a cohort of up to 12 Ph.D. students and 24 postdoctoral fellows across its members. AJI will also provide unique opportunities to its affiliates, such as special seminars and workshops focused on building an international intellectual community focused on statecraft, diplomacy, strategy, and publishing opportunities.
“There is tremendous demand from students to study statecraft from a historical perspective and with an eye towards having an impact in the world,” says Francis J. Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor at SAIS and Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs. “AJI represents a major advancement in these crucial areas of scholarship. We are thrilled to join an extraordinary community of partners who share our passion and commitment to conducting historically-informed thinking and policymaking, to mentoring a generation of scholars who play an active role in society, and to reviving the study of statecraft and diplomacy.”
The new AJI partnership also resonates with SAIS’s mission. Jim Steinberg, Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS, notes that the school has a rich legacy of advancing policy-relevant scholarship and academic programs, and that AJI provides a new avenue through which it can develop rigorous research that benefits the public. “SAIS is committed to using innovative scholarship to shape more effective international relations policies,” said Steinberg. “In joining the AJI, we have an exciting opportunity to advance this mission by developing both cutting-edge, historically-informed curricula as well as the next generation of exceptional scholar-practitioners. As we confront the complex challenges of the 21st century, the Ax:son Johnson Foundation’s generosity will allow us to welcome new cohorts of talented doctoral and postdoctoral fellows to SAIS, enriching our unique global community.”
By bringing together talented and dedicated faculty and fellows on both sides of the Atlantic, the consortium members will build on and learn from each other’s unique strengths. The Kissinger Center looks forward to engaging with each AJI partner’s distinctive approach to scholarship, to jointly developing innovative approaches to research and pedagogy, as well as to helping solve enduring and impending policy challenges.
“Thanks to the support of the Ax:son Johnson Foundation and in collaboration with our consortium partners, we can create a potentially revolutionary new model for bridging the gaps between the social sciences and history, and between policymaking and scholarship,” Gavin said. “Through AJI, we are excited to transform the landscape of historically-minded statecraft, strategy, and diplomacy, both at SAIS and around the world.”
About the Foundation
The Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit is a foundation based in Stockholm devoted to funding and supporting scholarly research, and in particular the advancement of international, interdisciplinary debate in the humanities and social sciences to the benefit of Sweden and the international community.
Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs
The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs seeks to generate and apply rigorous historical thinking to the most vexing global challenges. The Center is home to distinguished scholars of history and practitioners in foreign policy and international security and aims to bridge the world of ideas and the world of action by bringing together leading thinkers and policymakers. https://sais.jhu.edu/kissinger
Johns Hopkins SAIS
A division of Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a global institution that offers students an international perspective on today's critical issues. For more than 75 years, Johns Hopkins SAIS has produced great leaders, thinkers, and practitioners of international relations. Public leaders and private sector executives alike seek the counsel of the faculty, whose ideas and research inform and shape policy. Johns Hopkins SAIS offers a global perspective across three campus locations: Bologna, Italy; Nanjing, China; and Washington, D.C. The school's interdisciplinary curriculum is strongly rooted in the study of international economics, international relations, and regional studies, preparing students to address multifaceted challenges in the world today.
For more information, visit sais.jhu.edu or on Twitter @SAISHopkins