How can we prosper in a world more dangerous than ever? Join the former foreign secretary and one of Britain’s most experienced diplomats for lessons for an uncertain future.
After decades of peace and prosperity, the international order put in place after World War II is rapidly coming to an end. Disastrous foreign wars, global recession, the meteoric rise of China and India and the COVID pandemic have undermined the power of the West’s international institutions and unleashed the forces of nationalism and protectionism.
In conversation with former foreign secretary Jack Straw, one of Britain’s most respected and experienced senior diplomats, Peter Ricketts, who served as Permanent Secretary to the Foreign Office and a wealth of other senior positions in government, will highlight the key dilemmas Britain faces, from trade to security, arguing that international co-operation and solidarity are the surest ways to prosper in a world more dangerous than ever.
Praise for Peter Ricketts’ Hard Choices:
‘A bracing, stimulating, utterly timely call for the UK to take a very hard look at its place in the world post-Brexit and after Covid. Peter Ricketts tells us we have nothing to lose but our illusions. He’s right.’ – Peter Hennessy, author of Winds of Change
‘No one is more able than Peter Ricketts by experience and wisdom, to set out clearly and sensibly the broad parameters of Britain’s strategy in the age of Brexit, pandemic, climate change and the threats to liberal democracies from China. A sensible Government would implement these proposals with enthusiasm straight away.’ – Chris Patten, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and former Governor of Hong Kong
‘A candid and sometimes brutal sizing up of past mistakes, of chances missed and of opportunities still open. This dissection of British strategic choices by the UK’s first National Security Adviser and one of our most experienced diplomats reveals not just the inside story of how we got here but what it will feel like to be in the room when the hard choices have to be made.’- Professor Sir David Omand, former director of GCHQ
