2023 Baker Peace Conference: A New Cold War? set for Feb. 23-24

Are we in a new Cold War? This is the theme of the Contemporary History Institute’s annual Baker Peace Conference taking place Feb. 23-24 in Ohio University’s Walter Rotunda.

"The guest speakers will examine this question with reference to the current conflict in Eastern Europe and the growing tensions in Asia," said Alec Holcombe, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of Ohio University's Contemporary History Institute.

"The conference speakers come from a range of professional backgrounds: three journalists, three university professors, two specialists from leading research institutes, a portfolio manager from a major mutual fund firm, and a former ambassador to Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Lithuania. They will be coming here to Athens from Europe, Asia, and the U.S. We hope to have the type of conversations that the late President John C. Baker and his wife, Elizabeth, envisioned when they set up the peace studies endowment at Ohio University four decades ago," Holcombe said.

The keynote address will be delivered on the evening of Thursday, Feb. 23, by Julia Ioffe, a Russia specialist who has contributed articles to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Forbes, The Washington Post, and other prominent publications. She is currently the Washington correspondent for the recently founded website, Puck. Ioffe was born and raised in Moscow until the age of seven when, in 1990, her family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States.

On Friday, Feb. 24, the conference will feature three panels, each with three speakers. The first panel will take place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and focus on Russia and Europe. The second will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and address China and Asia. The third panel will take place from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and adopt a broader view, considering the question of how peace may be achieved and preserved in tomorrow’s world.

See the full conference schedule.