Dr. T.V. Paul's Talk
When and why do great powers abandon relatively peaceful grand strategies for reasons of status? Dr. T.V. Paul's new book project analyzes the role international status plays in major foreign policy shifts in the US, China, and Russia, offering crucial insight into great power politics. Dr. T.V. Paul is Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is the Founding Director of the Global Research Network on Peaceful Change (GRENPEC). He is the author or editor of 24 books, co-editor of 6 special journal issues, and author of nearly 90 scholarly articles/book chapters.
Dr. Ho-fung Hung's Talk
Dr. Ho-fung Hung presented a fascinating analysis of how the US dollar has been and remains the main currency of international trade and foreign exchange reserves. What does recent evidence tell us about the renminbi's potential to challenge the dollar's status? The talk drew on findings from his upcoming book, Greenback Empire (to be published in October 2026). Dr. Ho-fung Hung is the Hentry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor in Political Economy in the Department of Sociology and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. The event was co-sponsored by the Centre for Global Chinese Studies (CGCS) at McGill.
Dr. Justin Gest's Talk
How does the emigration of pro-democratic citizens affect democratic backsliding? Dr. Justin Gest presented findings from his recently published book Democratic Drain, which analyzes data from 149 countries, at the event co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of International Development, the McGill Refugee Research Group, and the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. Dr. Justin Gest is a Professor and the Director of the Public Policy Program at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. He is the award-winning author of seven books and a publishing expert in world media outlets.
