The Naked Diplomat: Understanding Power and Politics in the Digital Age

Previously published as Naked Diplomacy. Who will be in power in the 21st century? Governments? Big business? Internet titans? And how do we influence the future? Digital technology is changing power at a faster rate than any time in history. Distrust is fuelling political uncertainty; inequality is fuelling economic uncertainty; and massive technological change is fuelling existential uncertainty. The scaffolding built around the 20th century global order is fragile, and the checks and balances created over centuries to protect liberty are being tested, maybe to destruction. Tom Fletcher, the youngest senior British ambassador for 200 years, considers how we - as governments, businesses, individuals - can survive and thrive in the 21st century. And how we can ensure that technology helps us create opportunity, improve security, outsmart the extremists, and make it easier for citizens to truly take back control.