Why War?

Tuesday, July 21, 2026
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Ecumen Pathstone Latitude and Landing, 115 Rogers St, Mankato, MN 56001

In the 1930s, Albert Einstein reached out to Sigmund Freud to ask if there was any hope for an end to the menace of war among humans. The now famous dialogue that ensued was not overly hopeful. Indeed, one is hard pressed to find a time in history when deadly warfare did not plague us. WHY? The answers draw from research on primates, psychology, Shakespeare, religion, and more. What does research from these different areas of study reveal about the persistence of war or hope for its demise? For us today, what is the significance of changes in warfare, to the point we often don’t acknowledge (Iran, for example) that we are even in a war. Are we stuck with war? How is it changing? What are some ethical principles that should guide us into the future of warfare?

Presenter:

Dr. Loramy (Mimi) Gerstbauer - She is a Professor of Political Science and Program Director for Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. She teaches courses in international relations, US foreign policy, and peace studies. Her research focus is post-war reconciliation and transitional justice. In the last decade, she served as a US Fulbright Scholar in Warsaw, Poland and taught at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. She serves with Peace and Hope International, a peacebuilding organization working across Latin America, and has taken student groups to Nicaragua, Colombia, and Peru. She received a Master’s in Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame (where she also completed her doctorate in Government).

Sponsor:

Steve Gilbert