WACC Speaker Series with David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent at the New York Times, and Author — “New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West”
Event Details
New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West
The World Affairs Council of Charlotte will host David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent at the New York Times and author, as part of the WACC Speaker Series on May 27th, 2026.
Few journalists have covered the shifting tides of American power more closely than Sanger. Geopolitics is playing a significant role in the new world order as the United States, Russia, and China fight for global supremacy through military strength, political maneuvering, technological advancements, and economic success. The war between Ukraine and Russia grinds on despite the international community’s efforts to end the conflict. China and the U.S. are in a race to achieve AI greatness. America’s global influence is waning, and its presence in the Middle East is destabilizing the region and creating major challenges for Americans right here at home.
Join us for lunch as Sanger brings his signature insight to one of the most pressing questions of our time: Can America still defend Western ideals in an era of historic geopolitical change?
ONE OF NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West
For years, the United States was confident that the newly democratic Russia and increasingly wealthy China could be lured into a Western-led order that promised prosperity and relative peace—so long as they agreed to Washington’s terms. By the time America emerged from the age of terrorism, it was clear that this had been a fantasy.
Now the three powers are engaged in a high-stakes struggle for military, economic, political, and technological supremacy, with nations around the world pressured to take sides. Yet all three are discovering that they are maneuvering for influence in a far more turbulent world than they imagined.
Based on a remarkable array of interviews with top officials from five presidential administrations, U.S. intelligence agencies, foreign governments, and tech companies, Sanger unfolds a riveting narrative spun around the era’s critical questions: Will the mistakes Putin made in his invasion of Ukraine prove his undoing and will he reach for his nuclear arsenal—or will the West’s famously short attention span signal Kyiv’s doom? Will Xi invade Taiwan? Will both men deepen their partnership to undercut America’s dominance? And can a politically dysfunctional America still lead the world?
Taking readers from the battlefields of Ukraine—where Russia uses bullets from North Korea and drones from Iran—to the Taiwan headquarters where the world’s most advanced computer chips are produced and on to tense debates in the White House Situation Room, New Cold Wars is a remarkable first-draft history chronicling America’s return to superpower conflict, the choices that lie ahead, and what is at stake for the United States and the world. (Source Penguin Books)
- WACC Private Reception Sponsorship and Underwriting (May 27th, 2026) – Download Link
- WACC Speaker Series Sponsorship and Underwriting (May 27th, 2026) – Download Link
Program Information:
Date: Wednesday, May 27th, 2026
Check-In and Pre-Lunch Networking: 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Lunch & Presentation: 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Hilton Charlotte Uptown
Cost: $65 (WACC Member Rate) | $80 (Non-Member Rate) | $45 (Young Professionals of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte — YPWACC) | $40 (WACC Student Member / WACC Educator Member)
