‘Last Resort? US Diplomacy and the Gulf War 1991’ – Public talk at UCC

26 Nov 2025

• UCC Professor of Modern History David Ryan to deliver public talk.

The School of History at University College Cork will host a public talk on Thursday, 27 November 2025, exploring how the United States approached diplomacy in the lead-up to the 1991 Gulf War. The lecture, titled ‘Last Resort? US Diplomacy and the Gulf War 1991’, will be delivered by Professor David Ryan, Professor of Modern History at UCC.

The event takes place in the School of History seminar room in Tyrconnell, off College Road, from 4pm to 5pm, and all are welcome to attend.

The talk will explore how, after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, the United States brought together an international coalition and oversaw the adoption of twelve UN Security Council Resolutions. The first of these, UNSC 660, condemned the invasion, called for Iraq’s immediate and unconditional withdrawal, and urged negotiations. The final resolution, UNSC 678, authorised the use of “all necessary means” to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Sanctions, diplomacy and military pressure shaped the coalition’s response. Professor Ryan’s talk will explore how war was not treated as a genuine last resort.

Professor Ryan is a leading expert in contemporary history and US foreign policy. His work covers US interventions from the post-Vietnam era to the early twenty-first century, including Central America, Iraq, Afghanistan and broader Middle Eastern affairs. He has written widely on how the United States manages conflict, diplomacy and intervention, and he is currently completing a manuscript on diplomacy and the Gulf War 1990-1991.

All welcome on Thursday, 27 November in the School of History seminar room in Tyrconnell, Perrott Avenue, from 4pm to 5pm.

For further information contact Dr Jérôme aan de Wiel, UCC School of History: j.aandewiel@ucc.ie