The Hayden Center Presents: War & Democracy with Professor A.C. Grayling

**** PLEASE NOTE COSMOS CLUB DRESS CODE BELOW****

"Although the majority of countries in the world have become democracies—or have pretended to—since 1945, wars continue. What is the connection between war and democracy? Do wars continue to happen because, despite the UN and the idea of an international order of laws, the global order is still an anarchy? Would wars stop if, as Bertrand Russell and Immanuel Kant variously argued, the whole world could be a single democratic order? Answers depend upon understanding democracy, and understanding war, as well as understanding their relationship.”

—A.C. Grayling, Master of the New College of the Humanities, London

Please join General Michael V. Hayden, former CIA and NSA Director, as he hosts Hayden Center Distinguished Visiting Fellow Dr. A.C. Grayling, renowned British author, commentator, and professor of philosophy, as they explore war and democracy. Dr. Grayling will offer prepared remarks, followed by a conversation with General Hayden that will also explore the possible end of the Enlightenment in the West, modernism and Islam, and democracy in crisis as it faces threats from the rise of populism and authoritarianism—particularly the rise of Trump in the U.S. and the U.K.’s Brexit from the European Union. A reception will follow the event.

A.C. Grayling is the Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and its Professor of Philosophy. Grayling is the author of over thirty books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays including two published last year, War: An Enquiry (Vices and Virtues) and Democracy and Its Crisis. He was for a number of years a columnist for The Guardian, The Times, and Prospect magazine. He has contributed to many leading newspapers in the UK, US and Australia, and to BBC Radio and the BBC World Service, for which he did the annual Exchanges at the Frontier series, and he has often appeared on television. He has twice been a judge on the premier literary award, the Man Booker Prize, in 2014 serving as the chair of the judging panel. He is also a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford.

A Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), Dr. Grayling earned his master's of arts and doctorate of philosophy at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society of Literature, a Vice President of the British Humanist Association, Patron of the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association, Honorary Associate of the Secular Society, and a Patron of Dignity in Dying.

Please join us for what should be an invigorating evening.

FAQs

What is the dress code at the Cosmos Club?

Gentlemen are expected to wear jackets, dress slacks, a collared long-sleeved shirt (tucked-in) or turtleneck at all times. Ties are not required.

Ladies are expected to dress in an equivalent fashion, which means dresses, suits, skirts or dress slacks with jackets or tops of equivalent formality. Leggings or tights, unless worn with skirts, dresses, or long jackets, are not considered to be of equivalent formality.

For more details please visit this webpage: https://www.cosmosclub.org/Dress-Code

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

Please consult these webpages:

• https://www.cosmosclub.org/Map-and-Directions
• https://www.cosmosclub.org/Parking
  

How can I contact the organizer with any questions?

Please email us at hayden@gmu.edu