The life of a diplomat may seem far flung and unrelatable but, beyond the cocktails and canapes, there are ideas that can help us understand and work on social issues, such as increasing polarisation, and lessons to help us support ourselves.

In this episode, Leigh Turner, author of 'Lessons in Diplomacy’ and former British ambassador who led posts in Ukraine, Turkey and Austria, talks about the lessons we all can learn from diplomacy.

He divulges anecdotes from his career, looks at how diplomacy is changing and shares tips on how to overcome fear of the other and stay grounded in crisis situations.

Leigh Turner is a former British ambassador who recently retired from the Foreign Office. Multilingual, he held diplomatic posts in Vienna, Moscow and Berlin, served as Ambassador to Ukraine, British Consul-General in Istanbul, Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, and Director of Overseas Territories in the FO. He has also written several political thrillers. Follow him on Twitter: @RLeighTurner

Find out more about the book at: https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/lessons-in-diplomacy

The full transcript of the podcast is available here: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2024/08/20/podcast-what-diplomacy-means-in-the-real-world/

Browse the photo gallery: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPJhpovCMttEde2QvKGvYvMqghvXHs7eHCiznVJlD0obfCi3npjDDwtV6QwZhYApw?key=YUFmekRaQldBd2wtT0xOWEFyWFp3eWVZMnpvQWFR

Timestamps:

1:14 - How did you become a diplomat and why did you want to write the book?

3:42 - Can you tell us some stories from your career?

6:21 - What would happen if there wasn't diplomatic immunity?

9:47 - Who did you write the book for?

13:17 - How does the book teach us about how the world works?

20:33 - Is the spreading out of power a good thing?

21:51 - What can diplomacy teach us about overcoming 'fear of the other'?

27:36 - What is your advice for staying grounded and calm during a crisis?

32:46 - What does the future of diplomacy look like?

37:28 - What are your plans for the future?

Intro music:

Cold by yoitrax | @yoitrax

Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com 

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

Follow the Transforming Society blog to be told when new articles and podcasts publish: https://www.transformingsociety.co.uk/follow-the-blog/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.