Faculty Research Forum | What's So Colonial About Colonial Rule? Imperial Strategies in French North Africa and Beyond

Adria Lawrence and Dipali Mukhopadhyay will discuss how France and Great Britain governed their African colonies, focusing on the limits of common imperial strategies in French North Africa and beyond. The conversation will examine colonial efforts to gather local knowledge, manipulate identities, and use direct or indirect rule, as well as the ways those approaches often failed and led colonial powers to rely on force. The discussion also considers how these limitations may help explain U.S. difficulties with state-building in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

The event is hosted by the SAIS Office of Faculty Affairs, with Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs Peter M. Lewis providing the introduction. A light lunch will be available.

When: October 15, 2026

Showtimes: 12:30–2 p.m. EDT

Venue: Room 258, Hopkins Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

Speakers: Adria Lawrence, Aronson associate professor of international studies and political science at Johns Hopkins, in conversation with Dipali Mukhopadhyay, Jacob Blaustein associate professor in international organizations and conflict resolution at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

Introduction: Peter M. Lewis, vice dean for faculty affairs

Tickets: Free

Registration: Registration is required; attendees should register in advance.

Audience: The general public, faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Refreshments: A light lunch will be provided.

Contact: SAIS Office of Faculty Affairs at saisfacultyaffairs@jhu.edu