David A. Mayers

Biography

"David Mayers holds a joint appointment in the History and Political Science Departments. His primary area of teaching/research interest is the history of US foreign relations. Among his previous books are George Kennan and the Dilemmas of US Foreign Policy (Oxford University Press, 1988), The Ambassadors and America’s Soviet Policy (Oxford University Press, 1995, Douglas Dillon prize from the American Academy of Diplomacy), Wars and Peace: The Future Americans Envisioned, 1861-1991 (St. Martin’s Press, 1998), Dissenting Voices in America’s Rise to Power (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and FDR‘s Ambassadors and the Diplomacy of Crisis (Cambridge University Press, 2013). His current research/book project is centered on the international political system during the first decade after World War II, in which connection he has published these articles. “Humanity in 1948: The Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” in Diplomacy and Statecraft, September 2015; “Destruction Repaired and Destruction Anticipated: United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), the Atomic Bomb, and U.S. Policy 1944-46” in The International History Review, February 2016 (online), October 2016 (print). Mayers served on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Relations from 1999 to 2005. He is a member of the Management Committee, Transatlantic Studies Association, 2016-present. He chaired the Political Science Department from 2001 to 2007. He is again serving as chair, 2015-2018. He held a Berlin Prize (Haniel Fellow) at the American Academy in Berlin in 2008. Since 2013, he has been a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University."

Research Interest

International Relations, Diplomatic History, Political Biography