The Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs has appointed Mary Elise Sarotte its newest Professor of Global Affairs, starting in January 2026. She will hold a joint appointment as a tenured professor in the Yale School of Management.

“I am delighted Mary is joining our wonderful faculty,” said James Levinsohn, dean of the Jackson School.

Sarotte, an expert on the Cold War and its legacy for today’s geopolitics, is the author of five books and co-editor of a sixth. Her most recent book, Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the Making of Post-Cold War Stalemate, was shortlisted for both the Cundill History Prize and the Duke of Wellington History Medal, received the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Prize Silver Medal, and won the Pushkin House Prize for Best Non-Fiction Book on Russia. A study of the fight between Moscow and the West over NATO enlargement, Not One Inch is now appearing in multiple European and Asian countries, including a best-selling updated version for German-speakers.

One of her earlier books, The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, became an Economist, Financial Times, and BBC History Book of the Year. Its predecessor, 1989: The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe — also a Financial Times Book of the Year — won both the Ferrell History Prize for best book on US foreign relations and the Shulman Prize for best book on Soviet foreign relations.

Sarotte has held tenured faculty appointments at the University of Cambridge, the University of Southern California, and, most recently, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies or SAIS, where she was the inaugural holder of the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professorship of Historical Studies. The appointment represents a return to her academic roots, as she earned her Ph.D. at Yale. “So much has changed at Yale and in New Haven, but the core is still the same,” she said. “The people — the faculty, staff and students who make up Yale — are among the finest in the world.”

It was at Yale that Sarotte wrote the prize-winning dissertation that later became her first book, Dealing with the Devil. This work explored Ostpolitik, a German term that translates to “Eastern Policy,” referring to the foreign policy of the West toward East Germany during a period of long-term, enduring conflict. “When I was working on my dissertation in the 1990s, this topic seemed like a historical one,” she said. “Now, tragically, we need to find ways to manage long-term hostilities in Europe once again.”

At Jackson, Sarotte will lead the seminar in Grand Strategy Studies, a year-long course for undergraduates and graduate students focusing on large-scale strategic challenges in politics and statecraft. She will also serve as the director in charge of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy, which hosts events with policymakers and practitioners, funds postdoctoral fellows, and supports student research.

“Sarotte brings unparalleled expertise in contemporary European history and international affairs to Yale,” said Arne Westad, former director of the Grand Strategy program. “As the incoming director of the prestigious Brady-Johnson Grand Strategy Program, she represents exactly the caliber of scholar needed to bridge historical analysis with contemporary global challenges. Yale has secured the ideal leader for this critical initiative.”

Asked about the value for students of studying history of international relations today, Sarotte replied, “In troubled times, history can be a great resource.” As she sees it, “I don’t think we can accurately predict the future, but we can prepare for it. The best way to do that is to understand the past.”