Alyssa Denise Walsh Photography

The Cambridge Union

This House Welcomes The Decline Of America

Photographed at the Cambridge Union, this series documents the charged atmosphere of the debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America.” Through a restrained monochrome palette and precise composition, the images reveal both the intellectual intensity and human vulnerability behind public discourse, reflecting on the architecture of persuasion within one of Britain’s most historic debating chambers.

Professor John J. Mearsheimer

John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He has written extensively about security issues and international politics and published seven books. In 2020, he received the American political Science Association’s James Madison Award.

Professor delivers his address during the Cambridge Union debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America”. The image captures a moment of fervent conviction, framed within the traditional portraits of past orators.

Professor sits during the Cambridge Union debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America”. The quiet pause contrasts the charged atmosphere of the chamber, revealing a rare stillness amid intellectual confrontation.

*Professor speaks at the Cambridge Union debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America”. Captured mid-argument, the raised finger underscores the precision and authority of his rhetoric.*

The Rt Honourable The Lord Howard of Lympne

Michael Howard was the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2003 to 2005. He previously held cabinet positions in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Home Secretary.

Shashank Joshi

Shashank Joshi is Defence Editor at The Economist and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London

Dr Steven Thrasher

Steven Thrasher PhD holds the inaugural Daniel Renberg Chair for social justice in reporting and is a faculty member of the Institute of Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and published his debut book The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide in 2022.

Tilly Middlehurst

Tilly Middlehurst, student speaker, addresses the Cambridge Union during the debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America”. Her poised delivery and expressive clarity embody the confidence of emerging voices within one of Britain’s most historic debating chambers.

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Photographs © Alyssa Denise Walsh, Cambridge, 2024.
Documented during the Cambridge Union debate “This House Welcomes the Decline of America”.