The 9th Annual Fulbright Distinguished Lecture given by RT Hon David Miliband

NEWS |

The RT Hon David Miliband delivered the 9th Annual Fulbright Distinguished Lecture on Friday evening (21st June), entitled ‘The New "Arrogance of Power": Global Politics in an Age of Impunity’. 

The Fulbright Distinguished Lecture 2019 can be viewed here.

Pembroke Rhodes Pelczynski Fellow in Politics, Professor Stephen Whitefield and Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, Penny Egan CBE opened the evening with an introduction to the Fulbright Lecture series. The Chancellor of Oxford University, the RT Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, CH, Christopher Patten then introduced Mr Miliband to the stage.

Throughout the lecture, Mr Miliband examined the major shifts in international relations today, away from checks and balances on the use of power, towards an Age of Impunity, using his vantage point as President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. He explained how the rules-based international order that was forged after World War II is being undermined, and suggested how the multilateralist promise embodied by Senator Fulbright can be redeemed.

In 2016, Mr Miliband was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine and in 2018 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mr Miliband addressed a full house in the Pichette Auditorium at Pembroke, followed by a lively Q&A session alongside Professor Stephen Whitefield and Chancellor of Oxford University, Lord Patten. 

These distinguished annual lectures commemorate former United States Senator J. William Fulbright, alumnus of Pembroke College, Oxford and founder of one of the most prestigious international education awards programs in the world: The Fulbright Program. These lectures are organised in association with the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, the US-UK Fulbright Commission, the Fulbright Association and the Lois Roth Endowment

Mr Miliband's speech was featured in The Washington Post on 7 July.