Further reading

The BDOHP recommends the following books which have been published recently by some of the subjects in the archive:

Simon McDonald – Leadership:  Lessons in the Life of Diplomacy

In his first book, Simon reflects on the leaders he worked for, especially in the first half of his career, and how they affected his leadership style, especially in the second half of his career.  Role models were important, even when there was no formal mentoring relationship; it helped to work for strong leaders before working for weaker ones, but these too had important lessons.

Peter Ricketts – Hard Choices

In Hard Choices, Peter Ricketts draws on his experiences during forty years as a member of the British Diplomatic Service to explore how the country should define its future in an increasingly divided and unpredictable world. He charts the vital role played by Britain’s statesmen and diplomats in shaping the post-war international order, and argues that the surest way to future stability and prosperity is for the country to play a leading role in sustaining international cooperation and the rule of law.

Peter Westmacott – “They Call It Diplomacy”

Sir Peter Westmacott’s forty-year career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office straddled the last decade of the Cold War and the age of globalization, included spells in pre-revolutionary Iran and the European Commission in Brussels, and culminated in prestigious ambassadorial postings in Ankara, Paris and Washington in the post-9/11 era.

As well as offering an engaging account of life in the upper echelons of the diplomatic and political worlds, and often revealing portraits of global leaders, They Call It Diplomacy mounts a vigorous defence of the continuing relevance of the diplomat in an age of instant communication, social media and special envoys; details what its author sees as some of the successes of recent British diplomacy; offers trenchant views on the Brexit referendum and its aftermath; and considers how Britain can continue to make a difference in the wider world now that it has left the European Union.

Stephen Wall – “Reluctant European”

Stephen Wall, Reluctant European: Britain and the European Union from 1945 to
Brexit  (Oxford University Press, 2020)

In 2016, the voters of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The majority for ‘Leave’ was small. Yet, in more than 40 years of EU membership, the British had never been wholeheartedly content. In the 1950s, governments preferred the Commonwealth to the Common Market. In the 1960s, successive Conservative and Labour administrations applied to join the European Community because it was a surprising success, whilst the UK’s post-war policies had failed. But the British were turned down by the French. When the UK did join, more than 10 years after first asking, it joined a club whose rules had been made by others and which it did not much like. At one time or another, Labour and Conservative were at war with each other and internally. In 1975, the Labour government held a referendum on whether the UK should stay in. Two thirds of voters decided to do so. But the wounds did not heal. Europe remained ‘them’, not ‘us’. The UK was on the front foot in proposing reform and modernisation and on the back foot as other EU members wanted to advance to ‘ever closer union’.

As a British diplomat from 1968, Stephen Wall observed and participated in these unfolding events and negotiations. He worked for many of the British politicians who wrestled to reconcile the UK’s national interest in making a success of our membership with the sceptical, even hostile, strands of opinion in parliament, the press and public opinion. This book tells the story of a relationship rooted in a thousand years of British history, and of our sense of national identity in conflict with our political and economic need for partnership with continental Europe.

From Andrew Rawnsley’s review in the Guardian, 20 September 2020:

‘Wall tells this sad tale with authority, expertise and a gift for lucid explanations of complex issues and convoluted negotiations.’