Co-author of the acclaimed new book, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11, Goldgeier will explain how trends in the Democratic and Republican parties since the end of the Cold War can help us understand how America is likely to respond to the challenges and opportunities facing us today. From terrorism to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, from the rise of Asia to the impact of globalization and climate change, liberals and conservatives have hotly debated America's role in the world ever since the Soviet Union collapsed. How is the Obama administration defining America's purpose in the midst of two wars and a financial crisis, and what will that mean for the left and the right going forward?

James Goldgeier is a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow for transatlantic relations at the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously taught at Cornell University, and he has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, the Brookings Institution, the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Hoover Institution. In 1995-96, he was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow serving at the State Department and on the National Security Council staff. From 2001-2005, he directed George Washington University's Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies. He has authored or co-authored four books on foreign policy and published widely in newspapers and magazines. America Between the Wars was named one of the best books of 2008 by Slate and the Daily Beast.