Big Ideas Condoleezza Rice on how to fix the break-up of global cooperation
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Sep 30, 2025 
Join Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, and Philip Zelikow, esteemed diplomat and historian, as they tackle the fractures in global cooperation. Rice discusses how nation-centric goals hinder collaboration, while Zelikow emphasizes the need for democracies to unify on frontier technologies, especially AI. They analyze Germany's strategic shift in defense, the role of Ukraine in fostering cooperation, and propose strategies to enhance U.S. appeal to international students amidst rising polarization.
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Postwar Economic And Security Bargain
- The post-1945 system combined an economic commons with a U.S.-led security shield that enabled positive-sum growth.
- That bargain underpinned global stability but depended on U.S. willingness to bear security burdens.
Globalisation's Uneven Payoff
- Globalisation produced diffuse gains but concentrated pain in specific communities, fueling populism.
- Unequal local impacts and elites' distance from ordinary lives eroded support for the international order.
China's Divergent Path Under Xi
- China never fully integrated into the liberal political order and under Xi chose political control over liberalisation.
- That shift transformed China into a competitor across economic, technological, and military domains.
