Historically, international relations has fluctuated between periods of crisis and periods of relative stability. Some refer to our current age as one of sustained “polycrisis,” unleashed by what Chinese President Xi Jinping calls the “great changes unseen in a century.” Of course there has hardly been much peace or stability in the past 150 years, but the last time the world was in such a state of multipolar instability and insecurity was probably the 1930s. We are now at another threshold moment in which America’s place in the world may well be in the process of being transformed as well as reimagined. If history is any guide, some of this new thinking will endure; most of it will become obsolete.
The 2026 SHAFR Summer Institute will focus on the variety of US strategic cultures that emerged in response to previous moments of international crisis. At its most fundamental level, strategy applies all available means to achieve a desired end. Compared to most other states in the international system, the modern United States has possessed a much deeper pool of means in pursuit of far more expansive ends. The capaciousness of both means and ends has provided for a richly diverse array of American strategic cultures, some of which were lasting. Summer Institute participants will explore the ways in which previous generations of diplomats, strategists, economists, military planners, missionaries, activists, intellectuals, and others reconceived America’s place in the world and proposed to secure and bolster it. We hope to have as wide a chronological perspective as possible, from the colonial era to the present. How did the diplomatic, economic, military, demographic, technological, humanitarian, legal, ideological, and environmental challenges of the past shape US strategic culture about world order, and about the future of the world itself? In the process, we will consider strategic cultures broadly, ranging across the ways in which history, political and social structures, and scores of other factors influence worldviews and thus the strategy-making processes of individuals, groups, and states. And we will tackle issues related to grand strategy. Ultimately, we also hope to offer some perspective on our current international condition and possible ways forward for the US and the world.
The 2026 Summer Institute will take place June 21–June 24, 2026, at The Ohio State University, hosted by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, and co-directed by Christopher McKnight Nichols (Ohio State) and Andrew Preston (University of Virginia). Participants will be expected to arrive on June 20, 2026. Geared toward advanced Ph.D. candidates or newly minted PhD students in history, the Institute will feature seminar-style discussions and meetings with leading scholars. We encourage those working on a wide range of projects and interests, not limited to strategy and culture, to apply. We seek applications from those with ABD status (PhD candidates well into dissertation research), recent PhDs, and postdocs and early career scholars. The Summer Institute directly precedes the SHAFR Annual Conference which will also be at the same location in Columbus, OH, at The Ohio State University, from June 25-27, 2026.
The Summer Institute will also provide a forum for participants to present their research and participate in workshops on professional development, teaching, and publishing (articles, books, and for wider publics). Each participant will have their travel to Columbus and to a return destination booked by the Mershon Center staff. Participants also will be provided with accommodation at the Blackwell Inn at Ohio State, will be provided with most meals, will be afforded some unique opportunities while in Columbus, and will receive some modest funds to cover additional expenses.
The deadline for applications is December 15, 2025. To apply, please submit a c.v., a brief cover letter (maximum 2-pages, stating why the Summer Institute would further the applicant’s career goals and dissertation/book project), a 250-word abstract of the dissertation or book project, and a confidential letter of recommendation from a dissertation supervisor or committee member sent separately. These materials should be submitted by the deadline to both Prof. Christopher McKnight Nichols and to the Hayes Chair GRA.
