Former British Ambassador: What People Miss About Diplomacy (Tom Fletcher)

As the US retreats from the international stage, who is going to fill the gap? What will the ‘peace processes of the future’ look like? Who has more power, the tech giants or political leaders?

Rory and Alastair are joined by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the UN, Tom Fletcher, to answer all these questions and more.

TRIP Plus:

Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes.

Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics.

00:00 Introducing Tom Fletcher
01:29 How he approaches his role as head of humanitarian aid for the UN
03:20 Being president of an Oxford college
06:08 What makes a diplomat?
07:55 What has happened to the world in the last ten years?
11:51 Why are liberal values under threat?
16:00 Has the UN outlived its usefulness?
18:31 What lives do they not save?
20:46 Do you feel overwhelmed?
24:10 The situation in Sudan
27:55 Ukraine
31:15 The new leader of Syria
32:50 Working for 3 prime ministers
41:02 Would he become a politician?
47:15 Are we seeing the death of the nation state?
50:35 What role is there for Britain?
54:57 Debrief


Video Editors: Kieron Leslie + Alice Horrell
Assistant Producer: India Dunkley + Alice Horrell
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Producer: Nicole Maslen
Senior Producer: Dom Johnson
Head of Content: Tom Whiter
Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport