The Geopolitics of Empire and Espionage

Alfred "Al" William McCoy, the Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, will focus on the interplay between geopolitics and individual historical actors, explaining how geopolitical ruptures in hegemonic control during the Cold War created a momentary void in the world order that allowed a latter-day “man on the spot” the autonomy to put his fingerprints on the crime scenes of this global conflict.

Instead of the gentlemen adventurers like James Brooke and T.E. Lawrence of the British imperial age for whom the term was coined, our Cold War analogues are usually covert operatives. Like Africa, Southeast Asia during postwar decolonization abounds in these characters, so my talk will present the general thesis and some case studies from Southeast Asia—the region where the most famous, and notorious, of these figures first appeared.”

This seminar is part of the Gatty Lecture Series.

About the speaker
Alfred "Al" William McCoy is an American historian and educator. He is the Fred Harvey Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He specializes in the history of the Philippines, foreign policy of the United States, European colonization of Southeast Asia, illegal drug trade, and Central Intelligence Agency covert operations. He is the author of In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power. His newest book is To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change (Dispatch Books).

Host
Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Co-Host
Southeast Asia Program