Baker Center from a distance
2026 Baker Peace Conference: The State of American Power
April 16-17, 2026

Baker Peace Conference

The State of American Power

The Contemporary History Institute hosts the 2026 Baker Peace Conference, themed “The State of American Power,” on April 16–17 in Schoonover 145. 

This year’s Baker Peace Conference examines the state of American power. In what ways is American influence in the world changing? How should we assess U.S. strength? How healthy are key aspects of American soft power, such as the country’s systems of higher education and democratic governance? These and other questions will be addressed by the conference’s nine speakers, who come from a range of academic, journalistic, military, and diplomatic backgrounds.

The conference will begin on the evening of Thursday, April 16th with a keynote address delivered by retired brigadier general and business executive, Mark Arnold. The following day the conference will have two panels, a domestic-focused one in the morning from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and a foreign-focused one in the afternoon from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Each panel will have four 25-minute talks followed by twenty minutes of Q&A. All events will be free, open to the public, and supplied with refreshments. We hope to see you there.

2026 Baker Peace Conference Schedule

Keynote Address: April 16 at 7:00 PM in Schoonover 145

Panel 1: Friday at 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Alden 319

Panel 2: Friday at 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM in Alden 319

Panel 1: Power at Home
  • Andrew Preston, Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy and Statecraft at the University of Virginia
  • Kyle Balzer, Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
  • Robert Ingram, Professor and Director of the Program on Humanities in the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin
  • Michael Kleinman, Head of U.S. Policy for the Future of Life Institute
Panel 2: Power Abroad
  • Ludovic Hood, U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Former White House Advisor
  • Henry Haggard, U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Counselor at the U.S. Embassy Seoul
  • Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition
  • Eric Draitser, Political Analyst and Journalist with CounterPunch

About the Baker Peace Conference

The Baker Peace Conference is an annual event that brings together a diverse group of leading experts to discuss a significant national or international issue related to peace.

The first Baker Peace Conference took place in 1988, six years after the late Dr. John C. Baker, the University’s president from 1945–1962, and his wife, Elizabeth, established the John and Elizabeth Baker Peace Studies Endowment to encourage the education of students and the general public in the means by which peace can be established and maintained throughout the world. The Baker Conferences are jointly sponsored by the Contemporary History Institute and the Baker Peace Studies Program.

All events are free and open to the public. Institute students participate in these conferences and are involved in helping to organize them.

Conferences