The Secrets of Statecraft

H. R. McMaster in Peace and War

Distinguished combat commander Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster speaks about his time as President Trump's National Security Adviser, American mistakes during the Vietnam War, his belief in learning from the past to help to think strategically about the present, and finally he discusses what the Biden Administration is getting wrong and right about the Russo-Ukrainian War.

How History Shaped Dr. Condoleezza Rice

From murderous Jim Crow–era Birmingham, Alabama, via the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, to the defeat of Soviet Communism, the past has had a powerful influence over the worldview of Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former national security advisor and secretary of state. She also comments on the life and career of the late Mikhail Gorbachev.

The Statecraft and Spycraft of MI6’s former Chief

Sir Richard Dearlove was Chief of Operations of MI6 from 1996 to 1999, and its Chief - known as 'C' - from 1999 to 2004. He speaks of the effect of Kim Philby's treachery on the Service, Cold War victories against the KGB, James Bond and John Le Carré, and the rosy prospects for British Intelligence post-Brexit.

The Historical Heritage of Bibi Netanyahu

Bibi Netanyahu grew up in a household in which historical discussion and debate was constant, as his father was a distinguished professional historian. Here he discusses what effect the past has had on his life and career. 

 

Seventy Years on the Throne: Robert Hardman Explains Queen Elizabeth II’s Statecraft

On the occasion of her unprecedented platinum jubilee, Queen Elizabeth’s biographer and star Daily Mail reporter Robert Hardman discusses her use of soft power in Britain’s unwritten constitution.

Peter Robinson on the Art of Writing Ronald Reagan’s Speeches

Ronald Reagan was famously known as the Great Communicator. But who helped the Great Communicator communicate? One of them was Hoover Institution Research Fellow Peter Robinson, who wrote Reagan's “Tear Down This Wall” speech — one of the most famous speeches of the twentieth century. If you have ever been asked to deliver a speech in public (or even if you haven’t), listen to a master of the genre Peter Robinson speak of the humor, honesty, and honing involved in writing over 150 speeches for a U.S. President. 

The Influence of the Past on President Iván Duque of Colombia

In his struggle against the FARC guerrilla movement and his efforts to transform Colombia economically, President Iván Duque has had advisors at his side who include Simon Bolivar and Winston Churchill.

Dambisa Moyo Finds Echoes of the Gilded Age

Zambian-born and Harvard- and Oxford-educated economist Dambisa Moyo is the author of several important books on the interaction between finance and statecraft. Here she examines America’s Gilded Age, and finds a surprising number of comparisons with our own.