Leading scholars, policymakers, and think-tank experts gathered October 22–24 at the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia, for the annual retreat of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, sponsored by the International Policy Scholars Consortium and Network (IPSCON).

The retreat brought together a diverse mix of emerging and established voices in international affairs for a weekend of discussion, collaboration, and reflection on the state of policy-engaged scholarship. Designed both as a workshop and a forum for forward-thinking dialogue, the event encouraged participants to challenge conventional wisdom and identify overlooked questions shaping today’s global landscape.

A highlight of the retreat was the discussion chaired by Dr. Kori Schake on leading successful organizations. The session featured accomplished scholars and practitioners Dr. Kathleen Hicks, Dr. Alina Polyakova, Dr. Alexandra Toma, and Dr. Janice Stein. The group shared strategies for integrating academic insight into practical leadership in their respective institutions and highlighted the importance of exercising adaptability while maintaining a clear mission.

This discussion, and the many others throughout the retreat, supported the Kissinger Center’s ongoing mission to foster a network of thinkers capable of translating ideas into impact in an increasingly complex international environment.

Thanks to the generosity of the Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit, the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, located within the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, is pleased to announce generous fellowships for visiting Postdoctoral Fellows pursuing scholarly research in historically informed statecraft and strategy. In addition to being part of SAIS, the Postdoctoral Fellows will join an exciting, international consortium, the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy (AJI). The other members of the AJI are the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Grand Strategy in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London, and the Center for Statecraft and Political Communication at the Stockholm School of Economics. 

Postdoctoral Fellows will work closely with the faculty and affiliates of the Kissinger Center and will have opportunities to participate in the Center’s activities and the broader intellectual communities of SAIS and JHU. The new scholars will also collaborate with faculty, affiliates, students, and Fellows from the other institutes in the consortium, creating a multi-institutional, multi- national intellectual community that spans the Atlantic, and will have publishing opportunities through Engelsberg Ideas. 

The program will build and expand upon the Kissinger Center and SAIS’s strengths in diplomatic and military history, strategic studies, security studies, international relations, and economics and international political economy. SAIS is interdisciplinary and policy-engaged, and its location in Washington, DC, allows scholars easy access to major instruments of government, think tanks, and federally funded research and development centers, as well as important archives. SAIS also has campuses in Bologna (Italy) and Nanjing (China), providing additional opportunities to engage with the scholarly and policy communities in Europe and Asia. 

Up to three Postdoctoral Fellows will be awarded a two-year fellowship that includes health insurance, research funding, and a competitive salary of $73,000 per year.  

Eligibility 

Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to start in the summer/fall of 2026 and continue for two calendar years, although a later start date can be negotiated for exceptional applicants. Please state your availability in your application letter. The Postdoctoral Fellow will be expected, in addition to pursuing his or her own research and writing, to contribute to the intellectual life of the Kissinger Center as well as the AJI consortium and to participate in their programming.
 
Applicants for AJI Postdoctoral Fellowships must have completed their PhD by the time they take up the fellowship and have a track record of excellent historically-minded research in statecraft, diplomacy, or strategy. Postdoctoral fellows are expected to remain in residence at the Kissinger Center for the duration of their fellowship. We encourage candidates with PhDs in history, political science, and international relations to apply, but other disciplines are also welcome. Applications from women and minority candidates are especially encouraged. 

Application Instructions 

Each applicant should submit the following: 

1.     An application letter explaining why you are applying, why and how your research interests align with the objectives of the AJI initiative, what you hope to accomplish during your time at the Kissinger Center, and your desired start date;
2.     A curriculum vitae;
3.     An article or writing sample on statecraft or strategy, broadly defined, which demonstrates a historically-minded approach to research;
4.     Three letters of recommendation. 

  The applicant is responsible for collecting all materials and submitting them before 23:59 EST on January 2, 2026, using the following application portal: apply.interfolio.com/176067. 

Applicants will be notified of their acceptance in February 2026. 

On October 8, 2025, the Center for European Policy Analysis, Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS, Hertie School, and Keio Center for Strategy co-hosted a trilateral dialogue on The Future of World Order at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center.

The event brought together distinguished scholars and practitioners to reflect on the durability of the current global system amid growing geopolitical uncertainty. Dean James Steinberg provided opening remarks, and Professor Francis J. Gavin chaired the discussion.

Panelists included Professor Marina Henke (SAIS and the Hertie School in Berlin), Professor Yuichi Hosoya (Keio University, Tokyo), Christopher Walker (Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the Center for European Policy Analysis), and General Daniel Petrescu (former Chief of Defense, Romania).

The conversation opened with a reflection on the institutions and norms that have underpinned international stability since 1945 – many of which, panelists agreed, are under increasing strain.

The panelists then shared their analysis of where the postwar order stands today and what challenges threaten the stability of this order from the perspectives of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Indo-Pacific region. They discussed shifts in the strategic focus of democracies amid growing feelings of fear and unfairness, and how those feelings have been heightened by unforeseen consequences of the digital age.

In closing, Prof. Gavin emphasized that today’s challenges demand more than economic solutions. Instead, they require a rethinking of global institutions, values, and purpose in a rapidly changing world.

The Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs held a conversation with Dean James B. Steinberg celebrating the release of Prof. Francis J. Gavin’s new book, Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy.

Attendees included both scholars and foreign policy practitioners. The talk ranged from Henry Kissinger’s legacy as both a historian and a statesman, what Prof. Gavin gleaned from Dr. Atul Gawande’s “checklist manifesto,” and how we can spot faulty historical analogies in current policy debates. 

The event took place on Monday, October 6 at a historic Georgetown home.