Can the World Still Make Peace? A Conversation with Thant Myint-U

Thant Myint-U and Leslie Vinjamuri discuss why the international system is struggling to prevent and resolve conflict, and what it will take to build a more peaceful future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2025.
Sep
29
Yuki Iwamura / AP
Speakers
Thant Myint-U
Leslie Vinjamuri
Date and Time
Doors Open: 5:15 pm
Location
Chicago Council Conference Center, 130 E Randolph Street; or via YouTube
Who Can Attend

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This event is open to the public.

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About This Event

The postwar era is often told as the story of a liberal international order built and led by the West. However, that narrative can obscure forces that reshaped the world just as profoundly: decolonization, the emergence of dozens of new states, and the rise of the United Nations around an ambitious vision for preventing war. As great-power competition intensifies and conflicts proliferate, what has become of that vision, and why has it proven so difficult to sustain? As the global order grows more fractured, can the foundations for peace be rebuilt, and how? Join historian Thant Myint-U, grandson of former UN Secretary-General U Thant, and Leslie Vinjamuri for a discussion on why the international system is struggling to make peace, and what it might take to change course.

Copies of Thant Myint-U’s book, Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, will be available for sale and signing at the program. 

About the Speakers
Author
Headshot of Thant Myint-U.
Thant Myint-U is a senior fellow of the United Nations Foundation, a senior research fellow in the University of Cambridge Department of Politics and International Studies, an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the author of five award-winning books on history and politics.
Headshot of Thant Myint-U.
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She is Professor of Practice in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Exterior of the Prudential Towers
Construction Alert Please note that the Randolph Street lobby of the Prudential building, where guests enter for Council events, will be under construction from April through December.