Alex Younger
The Strategist
The long view, patient, analytical, playing several moves ahead.
Alex Younger is the former head of MI6, where he navigated the intricate landscape of international intelligence and security. This interview reveals his strategic thinking and ability to cut through the noise of political discourse to focus on what truly matters in global relations.
“We looked thanks, Ranks, Alistair. It's great to be here. You've both become rock stars, so there's a slightly intimidating interaction. But I will do my best.”
“Yeah, so I worry about the sacking. I think that is a route to an intelligence failure because it is to invite yes men or yes people into the tent. And that's potentially disastrous. I think one of the things propelled Putin into his fateful decision to invade Ukraine, for instance. So not a fan of that.”
“I think that there is an issue here. I mean, I've spoken publicly about this a lot, and it's a rather overdone analogy, but I think that we are moving from the Helsinki world where states have rights regardless of their size to the Alta world where big countries get to call the shots. And spheres of influence and strongmen making deals.”
“Everybody had lost the plot. Look, I mean, so having sort of taken the fifth on Iraq because I was a junior officer, I need to be clear I was in the middle of things when I was head of station in Afghanistan. It's a completely different perspective. But spoiler alert, slightly self-serving narrative.”
The Rest Is Politics: Leading — 132. Former Head of MI6: Russia, China, and Trump (Sir Alex Younger)
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