2008 Raymond Aron Lecture: Who Is Reshaping the World?

On October 7, the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings hosted Thérèse Delpech, director for Strategic Studies at the French Atomic Energy Commission and a nonresident senior fellow at CERI, the Centre d’etudes et Recherches Internationales, to deliver the Fifth Annual Raymond Aron Lecture. Delpech explored the forces currently redrawing the lines of the international system, from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to revisionist powers and globalization. She offered insights into the future of the trans-Atlantic community and the French-American alliance in particular.

Thérèse Delpech is also a commissioner of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission; a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Council; member of RAND Europe’s Advisory Board; and international advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1999, she chaired the U.N. Advisory Board for Disarmament Matters. From 1995 to 1997, Delpech served as advisor to French Prime Minister Alain Juppé on politico-military affairs. She is the author of a number of books on strategic issues, especially proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Following Mrs. Delpech’s remarks, Brookings Senior Fellow Philip Gordon offered a response. Brookings President Strobe Talbott gave introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.

The lecture series, named after the renowned scholar of post-war France, features leading French scholars and statesmen speaking on critical issues affecting the transatlantic relationship.