Andrew J Gawthorpe
I am a scholar of modern American history and foreign policy. While my work is mainly historical in nature, it is driven by a fascination with how the contemporary is shaped by the past.
I have published extensively on the Vietnam War, including a book, To Build as well as Destroy: The American Experience of Nation-Building in South Vietnam, available from Cornell University Press. My research has also been published in The Historical Journal, The Journal of Cold War Studies, The Journal of Strategic Studies, and Small Wars & Insurgencies.
I am a passionate teacher and public communicator. In 2019, I received the Institute for History’s biannual teaching prize, the Carla Musterd Award. I was also previously nominated for the teaching prize of the Faculty of Humanities. I consider public communication to be a vital part of a scholar’s role and frequently publish opinion pieces and op-eds. My writing has been published on every continent, including in The Guardian, Foreign Affairs, The Los Angeles Times, and many more outlets. I also host a podcast called America Explained.
Prior to working at Leiden, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Harvard Kennedy School, a Teaching Fellow at the UK Defence Academy, and a civil servant in the British Cabinet Office. I received my graduate training at the University of Cambridge and King’s College London.
Source: Leiden University
