Book Talk : Inadvertent Expansion by Nicholas Anderson

School of International Service

Join us at AU for a talk with Nicholas Anderson on his new book "Inadvertent Expansion: How Peripheral Agents Change World Politics"

American University, School of International Service, Founders Room

<h3><strong><strong>The SIS Historical International Studies cluster and the Korea in Global Affairs Initiative invite you to a book talk on Nicholas Anderson'</strong></strong><strong><strong>s new book "Inadvertent Expansion: How Peripheral Agents Change World Politics."</strong></strong></h3><h3><br></h3><h3><strong><strong>Monday, April 6, 2026</strong></strong></h3><h3><strong><strong>2:30 - 3:30 PM EST</strong></strong></h3><p><br></p><h3>Abramson Family Founders Room, American University School of International Service</h3><p><br></p><h3><strong><strong>About the Book:</strong></strong> In <em><em>Inadvertent Expansio</em></em>n, Nicholas D. Anderson investigates a surprisingly common yet overlooked phenomenon in the history of great power politics: territorial expansion that was neither intended nor initially authorized by state leaders.</h3><p>Territorial expansion is typically understood as a centrally driven and often strategic activity. But as Anderson shows, nearly a quarter of great power coercive territorial acquisitions since the nineteenth century have in fact been instances of what he calls "inadvertent expansion." A two-step process, inadvertent expansion first involves agents on the periphery of a state or empire acquiring territory without the authorization or knowledge of higher-ups. Leaders in the capital must then decide whether to accept or reject the already-acquired territory.</p><p>Through cases ranging from those of the United States in Florida and Texas to Japan in Manchuria and Germany in East Africa, Anderson shows that inadvertent expansion is rooted in a principal-agent problem. When leaders in the capital fail to exert or have limited control over their agents on the periphery, unauthorized efforts to take territory are more likely to occur. Yet it is only when the geopolitical risks associated with keeping the acquired territory are perceived to be low that leaders are more likely to accept such expansion.</p><p>Accentuating the influence of small, seemingly insignificant actors over the foreign policy behavior of powerful states, <em><em>Inadvertent Expansion</em></em> offers new insights into how the boundaries of states and empires came to be and captures timel</p><p><a href="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501779497/inadvertent-expansion/#bookTabs=1" title="https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501779497/inadvertent-expansion/#bookTabs=1" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Read more here.</a></p><h4><strong><strong>About the Author</strong></strong></h4><p><strong><strong>Nicholas Anderson </strong></strong>is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. Anderson received a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in 2021. His research and teaching interests include great power politics, military intervention and territorial expansion, conventional military operations, and East Asian international relations.</p><p><a href="https://blogs.gwu.edu/nick_anderson/" title="https://blogs.gwu.edu/nick_anderson/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Read more here.</a></p><h4><strong><strong>About the Moderator</strong></strong></h4><p>Joshua Rovner is an associate professor in the School of International Service at American University and a visiting fellow of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. His research and teaching focus on intelligence, strategy, and the sources of international instability.</p><p><a href="https://elliott.gwu.edu/nicholas-anderson" title="https://elliott.gwu.edu/nicholas-anderson" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Read more here.</a></p>

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Book Talk : Inadvertent Expansion by Nicholas Anderson

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