EDGS Book Talk: "Bad Lieutenants with Dr. Andrew Mertha

Join the Roberta Buffett Institute and its Equality Development & Globalization Studies (EDGS) program for a public talk with Andrew Mertha, the George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Dr. Mertha will present his new book, "Bad Lieutenants: The Khmer Rouge, United Front, and Class Struggle, 1970–1997," which examines how the Khmer Rouge remained a force to be reckoned with even after the fall of Democratic Kampuchea—and of the men behind the movement's strange durability. Mertha argues that the Khmer Rouge's successes and failures were both driven by a refusal to dilute its revolutionary vision. Rather than take the moderate tack required for viable governance, it pivoted between only two political strategies: united front and class struggle. Through the stories of three key leaders—Ieng Sary, Son Sen, and Ta Mok—Mertha tracks the movement's shifting from one strategy to the other until its dissolution in the 1990s.

Please join us at 12:30pm on April 1, 2026 in the Buffett Reading Room at 720 University Place, Evanston, IL 60201. Lunch will be provided!

This event is hosted by the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. We from the Geopolitical Forum can continue the conversation and hang out past 1:45, the scheduled end time of the event, perhaps over a coffee.

Please register for free at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edgs-book-talk-bad-lieutenants-with-andrew-mertha-tickets-1849340149169?aff=PlanItPurple. Act sooner rather than later, while there are still seats left.

Please also RSVP here to help us find one another at the event.