Tallandier Editions
“How I saw the world change”
In her book “Madame l’Ambassador, from Beijing to Moscow, a diplomat’s life”, Sylvie Bermann discusses the personalities of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, whom she was able to observe firsthand. “The Chinese see us as romantic. They are pragmatic,” she notes in passing. As for the Russians, she rightly emphasizes that “they are deeply patriotic, especially as they perceive their country as a fortress besieged by enemies, including the Swedes, Polish, and others during the time of the empire, and the Americans and NATO since then.” .
And to note regarding the economic sanctions imposed on Russia, they “actually penalized European companies more than American companies, which generally received the green light from the Treasury, incidentally allowing them to recover the contracts lost by the Europeans”. These are all considerations that can shed light on the current context of the war in Ukraine.
Stock Editions (january 31, 2021)
The Brexit vote in 2016 marked the beginning of a populist era where expertise and facts are rejected in favor of negative emotions. This movement has been observed in various countries, with themes such as hatred of elites, rejection of immigration, and an identity reflex based on the nostalgia for an imagined golden age. It has also been reinforced by the rise of populist movements in other nations, such as the 5 Star Movement and Salvini’s League in Italy, as well as the AFD in Germany and the yellow vests in France. The Covid pandemic has accentuated these tendencies, and now the world is defined in terms of rivalry between China and the United States, which will shape the decades to come. In this context, despite its “global Britain” stance, the United Kingdom finds itself caught between Beijing and Washington, limiting its choices rather than expanding them. The European Union must remain united to preserve its freedom and play the role of a balancing power.
