Ep 254: Frank Gavin on History and Statecraft

Frank Gavin, Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins University SAIS and author of Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy, joins the show to discuss the promise and perils of using history to guide today’s statecraft. ▪️ Times 02:20 Political Science vs. History 05:37 The Importance of Historical Thinking 08:13 Historical Interpretation 11:22 Counterfactuals  14:26 The Misuse of History in Policy Making 17:19 Thinking in Time 22:27 Errors When Thinking Historically 31:57 Putin’s View of History 40:01 Philosophical Understanding 47:05 Does History Have a Direction? 53:34 A Checklist for Historical Thinking Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack