Julio Crespo MacLennan Keynote Speaker

Jean Monnet Professor of European History, IE University
Author, How Europe Shaped the Modern World (2018)
Oxford D.Phil.; global lecturer in 40+ countries

Julio Crespo MacLennan's Biography

Julio Crespo MacLennan is a British-Spanish historian, author and international affairs analyst who explores democracy, civilisation and the ideas that shaped the modern world. As Jean Monnet Professor of European History at IE University, he brings a clear, comparative lens to how institutions rise, adapt and endure. Audiences value his authoritative, accessible style and his ability to connect long arcs of history to today’s policy and business choices.

Educated at the University of Oxford (M.A., D.Phil.), MacLennan was a Fellow of St Antony’s College and has been a Visiting Professor at Tufts University and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy in Boston. A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at leading universities and international forums in more than forty countries. He contributes regularly to major media outlets including BBC World and leading European newspapers, providing historical context to fast-moving events.

MacLennan is the author of six books on European and international history, notably How Europe Shaped the Modern World (Pegasus, 2018), published internationally and translated into Chinese. His forthcoming book, The European Monarchy in Modern Times: An International History, examines how monarchy evolved as a political institution and why it still matters. His latest essay, Ten Systems of Government Throughout History and Why Democracy Prevailed, proposes an original framework for understanding governance from antiquity to the twenty-first century and will appear as a book in 2026.

He is currently developing the Centre for Democracy and Freedom, a joint initiative between IE University and the European Studies Centre at Oxford. The Centre advances research and public debate on democracy, transatlantic relations and the challenges facing the Western world—equipping leaders with the insight to navigate uncertainty and renew free institutions.

Europe and the European Union

How Europe shaped the modern world and its continuing role in global civilisation.
The European Union and the sustainability of the European dream — nations, cultures, and European identity in the twentyfirst century.

The West and the Transatlantic Alliance

The transatlantic alliance and its challenges in a new era of global competition.
Europe–U.S. relations amid the rise of anti-Western coalitions and the defence of shared values.
The Liberal International Order and its relevance in the twenty-first century.

Monarchy

European monarchies and constitutional monarchy as a model of stability and continuity.
The discreet power of kings and the renewed relevance of monarchs in modern times.

Democracy

The evolution of systems of government and why democracy prevailed.
The challenges facing democracy in the technological era — can it survive the twenty-first century?

Latin America and the Western World

Latin America’s strategic role within the Transatlantic Alliance.
What Europe’s twentieth-century experience can teach Latin America in the twenty-first.

Great Historical, Cultural, and Economic Themes

What made the West stand out as a civilisation.
How ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship have shaped the fate of nations.
Cultures and civilisations in an age of mass migration.
The rise and decline of the university — and how to recover its mission as a guardian of knowledge.

He brings deep authority as a Jean Monnet Professor of European History, helping leaders understand how democracies and institutions rise, adapt and endure over time.
He connects long arcs of European and global history to today’s policy, geopolitical and business choices, giving audiences perspective they can apply to contemporary decision-making.
He draws on global experience as a lecturer and commentator in more than forty countries, translating complex historical ideas into clear, engaging insight for senior audiences.
His briefings equip leaders to navigate uncertainty, defend democratic values and think more strategically about the future of governance in a changing world.