Strategic Cultures

Mershon Center for International Security Studies, The Ohio State University  |  June 20–24, 2026

Facilitators: Christopher McKnight Nichols (The Ohio State University) & Andrew Preston (University of Virginia)

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 U.S. 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.

Ultimately, we also hope to offer some perspective on our current international condition and possible ways forward for the U.S. and the world.