Why the world will never be the same again - and what we should do about it

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Lecture abstract

In this talk Lord Paddy Ashdown will examine the shifting forces of our time - from crumbling nation states to international treaties, and from West to East, established powers are changing. Britain must, he argues, change with the time and adapt to a new age of diplomacy.

Just over 100 years ago, in the midst of the Boer War, the long stability of the 19th century was drawing to a close. After two devastating wars, two new powers would replace the old European nations to dominate the 20th century. As we begin the 21st century we are moving into a turbulent, puzzling, and often bloody phase. The long, stable phase of the 20th century is over.

The world is experiencing two power shifts simultaneously. Power is leaving the institutions of the nation state, moving towards the global stage where accountability and legality are non-existent or weak. National belligerence is left unresolved, and terrorists and criminals can occupy lawless spaces.

The second great power shift is from West to East. The growing economic tide will start to carry political and military power in time, and we will move towards a multipolar world needing careful diplomacy.

How should Britain react to this new world?

Lord Ashdown will argue we must move beyond the safety of established allegiances to help build coalitions of the willing. We must help build a Europe which can fend for itself against an aggressive Russia and an Arab world in flames.

Whilst the UN, EU, and NATO are important, in an increasingly networked world we must also work proactively with others to survive and thrive - diplomacy of the future should be based on common interests, not just common values.

About Lord Ashdown

Paddy Ashdown was born in New Delhi on 27 February 1941, the eldest of 7 children. He has served as a Royal Marines Officer, seeing active service in Borneo and the Persian Gulf. After Special Forces Training in England in 1965, he commanded a Special Boat Section in the Far East. He speaks fluent Mandarin and in 1972 he left the Royal Marines to join the Foreign Office.

Paddy was posted to the British Mission to the United Nations in Geneva where he was responsible for Britain's relations with a number of United Nations organisations and took part in the negotiation of several international treaties and agreements between 1974 and 1976. He was also involved in some aspects of the European Security Conference (the Helsinki Conference).

After leaving the Foreign Office Paddy worked in local industry in the Yeovil area in South-West England between 1976 and 1981. In 1981, Paddy went to work as a Youth Worker with the Dorset County Council Youth Service, where he was responsible for initiatives to help the young unemployed. He stood as the Liberal Parliamentary candidate for the Yeovil constituency in 1979 and raised the Liberal vote there to its highest ever level.

He was elected Leader of the Liberal Democrats in July 1988, and in the 1997 General Election he further increased his Yeovil majority. Paddy stood down as leader in 1999 and retired from the Commons in 2001.

During the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina Paddy was one of the leading advocates for decisive action by the international community. He argued strongly that this would help bring the conflict to an early close, and that this was in the interests of all the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina whatever their ethnic background.

Lord Ashdown was the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 until 2006. On return to Britain in 2006 he was awarded the GCMG for his work in Bosnia, and is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on the Balkans region in Europe.

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