Opinion / The Art of Diplomacy

Putin Speech: Meet Force with Force!

As you know, I have sent off the first more or less full draft of my e-book Speechwriting for Leaders. There is much fruity stuff in this, if I say so myself. One of the points I make is that before writing a word the smart speechwriter needs to think […]

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NATO and Russia (and Ukraine): European Security Wobbles?

My new piece for Telegraph Blogs looks at NATO’s preparedness (ie lack of) for a new assertive Russia: It is hard to imagine any situation in which Moscow decided that a full-scale military attack on central Europe would be a productive and winning idea. But what about something far more […]

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Speechwriting for Leaders: Starting a Speech

Getting back to working on my e-book, Speechwriting for Leaders. Some of this is fruity and unexpected and highly operational stuff, if I say so myself. How about the current chapter on e-heckling: Some events make a virtue of the interactivity provided by IT. Screens round the walls of the […]

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Charles Crawford – Lateline

Here is my latest piece for Telegraph Blogs about Ukraine/Russia/MH17  that got picked up all over the place, and led to me appearing on Lateline (Australian TV) – the link to the recording of that interview and a transcript of it that they prepared is here: EMMA ALBERICI: Indeed. We’re looking […]

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Ben Judah on Russia

Two terrific pieces by Ben Judah on Vladimir Putin and the Russia he is making. The first has achieved instant acclaim, a searching and meticulously researched account of a Day in The Life of the Russian President in his bullet-proof bubble. One powerful, perfectly turned paragraph after another: And now […]

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Russian Embassy Letter of Protest

The Russian Embassy in London says on its website that it has written a letter of protest to the Daily Mirror: Mr. Lloyd Embley Editor «Daily Mirror» Dear Sir, The Embassy has noticed the article «Vladimir Putin’s daughter flees £2million Dutch penthouse flat as fury grows over jet tragedy» published […]

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MH17: Dealing with Putin – Apocalypse Now?

My latest piece at Telegraph Blogs on the MH17 disaster and who knows what has picked up a lot of attention, including in Australia: The cause of the attack on the plane will have been known immediately to the Russian side. Missiles capable of hitting aircraft at that altitude cannot […]

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World War Three (again)

Long time no blog. Too much work that (unlike writing here) pays something, including mulling over my first book on the general theme of diplomatic speechwriting. Then there’s been the World Cup. I currently am busy preparing for several masterclasses in Poland later this month, on Diplomatic Drafting and (now) […]

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Diplomacy and ex-Diplomacy: What the Critics Say

One of the features of my former site was the revolving set of comments from happy or disgruntled readers and others. That has gone (“no clutter!”). But some of them were wonderful in unexpected ways, and most of the ones that were less than wonderful were at least noteworthy. So, […]

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Debating Russia and Ukraine

Here is the link to my latest foray with Voice of Russia. I was on the programme for a panel discussion with Sarah Lain (RUSI), Martin McCauley (SOAS) in London, and Simon Fentham-Fletcher of RenAsset Management (via feed from Moscow). The discussion is hosted by Peter Lavelle, an American based in […]

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