Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, former President of Iceland and current professor of history at the University of Iceland, explores Greenland’s complex path from colony to emerging nation—and its future, as seen from its closest European neighbor.

Drawing on Iceland’s own experience of gaining independence from Denmark, he examines the historical ties, political tensions, and geopolitical stakes that shape Greenland’s future amid growing great-power interest in the Arctic. The lecture offers a unique perspective from nearby Iceland on Greenland and broader questions of sovereignty, self-determination, and small-state resilience in an era of global change.

About the Speaker

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson is a 2026 Messenger Lecturer at Cornell. He served as the sixth president of Iceland from 2016 to 2024. Running as an independent, he won the 2016 election with a plurality of the vote, becoming the youngest person ever to serve as Iceland's president. His approval rating reached an unprecedented 97% in his first term. During his years in office, he elevated Iceland's international profile and advocated for human rights, inclusive democracy, climate action, and renewable energy solutions. As a historian at the University of Iceland, his research focuses on modern Icelandic history. He has published works on the Cod Wars, the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, and the Icelandic presidency.

***

About the Event

This lecture is hosted by the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, part of the Einaudi Center for International Studies. It is cosponsored by the Einaudi Center's Institute for European Studies and the Cornell Brooks School Tech Policy Institute.

Guðni Th. Jóhannesson's visit is sponsored by the Messenger Lecture series.

“Voices of Resilience” is a lecture-recital presentation developed in collaboration with the Ukrainian Classical Voice Project, a non-profit organization, and enabled by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and sponsored by the Institute for European Studies.

The program interweaves performance with spoken reflection to explore the role of music as a vehicle for peace-making, solidarity, and unity in the face of hardship.

Centering marginalized and underrepresented creative voices, the event highlights music as a powerful site of cultural memory, resilience, and collective expression.

Through music and dialogue, the presentation engages themes of culture, poetry, narrative, migration, and peace pedagogy, affirming the vital role of artistic collaboration in fostering global understanding, shared hope, and a collective pursuit of a more just and peaceful future.

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Program promotes ethical leadership and international research around the world—starting with the passionate leaders and learners found on campuses like Cornell. Open to first- and second-year students, the two-year Laidlaw program provides generous support to carry out internationally focused research, develop leadership skills, engage with community projects overseas, and become part of a global network of like-minded scholars from twenty universities worldwide.

At this session, we'll share more information about the program, including independent international projects with the Einaudi Center’s trusted partners around the world for the summer 2026 leadership-in-action portion of the program, and tips for writing a successful application. Applications are due January 12, 2026.

Register here. Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Program promotes ethical leadership and international research around the world—starting with the passionate leaders and learners found on campuses like Cornell. Open to first- and second-year students, the two-year Laidlaw program provides generous support to carry out internationally focused research, develop leadership skills, engage with community projects overseas, and become part of a global network of like-minded scholars from twenty universities worldwide.

At this session, we'll share more information about the program, including independent international projects with the Einaudi Center’s trusted partners around the world for the summer 2026 leadership-in-action portion of the program, and tips for writing a successful application. Applications are due January 12, 2026.

Register here. Can’t attend? Contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu.

IES Luigi Einaudi Distinguished Lecture

With the second Trump administration challenging the basic tenets of transatlantic relations, Europeans must find a way to contain the damage and chart a new path forward. Doing so successfully will require an understanding of the post-Cold War history of Europe, NATO, and Ukraine. In this lecture, Professor Mary Elise Sarotte, Director of Yale’s Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, will highlight how this history illuminates the tensions between Europe and the United States today. Drawing on her award-winning book Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate, Sarotte will both illuminate how we got to where we are—and what might happen as American foreign policy enters an era of “magical realism.”

About the Speaker

Mary Elise Sarotte is the Brady-Johnson Professor of Grand Strategy with a tenured joint appointment at the Yale School of Management. An expert in the history of international relations, she directs the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy.

Professor Sarotte has held tenured faculty appointments at the University of Cambridge, the University of Southern California, and, most recently, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies or SAIS, where she was the inaugural holder of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professorship of Historical Studies.

Host and Sponsors

This event is hosted by the Institute for European Studies (IES), part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. The IES Luigi Einaudi Distinguished Lecture is an annual event.