What’s Wrong with Diplomacy?: The Case of the UK and China Penguin, 2015

Traditional methods of diplomacy are fast becoming antiquated. Secrecy, pomp and elitism may have dictated diplomatic strategy of the Cold War era, but in a digitised twenty-first century, inclusivity and transparency are values of increasing importance. Access to information is being democratised for a global citizenry, and nowadays everyone is a potential diplomat. From the handover of Hong Kong to recent high-profile political scandal, former diplomat Kerry Brown explores the chequered relationship between the UK and China, offering fresh insights into the fraught and ever-changing dynamic between these two countries. What’s Wrong with Diplomacy? is a call to arms and a probing indictment of diplomacy’s failure to adapt to a changing world.

Reviews

Part memoir, part advocacy, Kerry Brown’s compelling and provocative essay is a clarion call for a change in the UK’s diplomatic practices.

Professor Rosemary Foot, PhD, FBA, Department of Politics and International Relations, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford

Brown’s call for a more modern, diverse and transparent approach to diplomatic engagement in the information age is worthwhile reading for anyone interested in Britain’s relations with China.

Duncan Hewitt, Adjunct Professor, New York University, Shanghai, and author of Getting Rich First: Life in a Changing China

Audio interview with James Kynge of the Financial Times, Chatham House, London, 2015, on the book: https://www.chathamhouse.org/event/future-diplomacy-case-uk-and-china