In Defense of Globalism

{
  "authors": [
    "John Kerry"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Western Europe"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Global Governance"
  ]
}

Other

In Defense of Globalism

Governance around the world is facing new and old challenges at the same time. And governance, writ large, is in crisis.

By John Kerry

Published on Jul 8, 2017

Secretary John F. Kerry delivered the 53rd Ditchley Annual Lecture on July 8, 2017.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, also members of the diplomatic corp.

I am in awe of anybody coming out on a Saturday in a suit and tie in this beauty. You are all masochists, I can tell. I am really grateful, and particularly grateful to George Robert son for his very generous introduction. This is a great honour for me. I had the privilege of sleeping in Winston Churchill’s room last night. I kept waiting for him to arrive, figuring he would, but there was no such apparition.

Bottom line, this is a very, very special place. It’s a beautiful day to wander around the grounds and to feel the history of this extraordinary place. It’s special for all of us, I hope. And, for our purposes, I think it is very meaningful to know that we are piggy backing on the backdrop of some extraordinary history – and none more so than the twelve or so long weekends Winston Churchill spent here at the height of World War II, when the Tree Family lent it to him as a wartime retreat. All of you know that the reason was that, that was a time of great testing. The war was not going well at that moment. The Royal Air Force had warned Churchill that Chequers was just too inviting a target for the Luftwaffe, and so it was here – away from the bombs of the war – that he came to get away, but not from the burdens of war obviously. He planned, he plotted, provided strategy and savvy, courage and conviction and together with Franklin Roosevelt, these two men found a way to forge ahead.

It is only fitting that the Ditchley Foundation presses forward today as a steward, the steward perhaps, of transatlantic cooperation, and in particular the US - UK relationship. It is a relationship – it gets repeated often, we talk about it – that is really unlike any other in the world, when you think about it, for the size of economies and size of the influence of our nations. And it has endured, in fact emerged even stronger over the years...

Read Full Transcript

This speech was given as the 53rd Ditchley Annual Lecture.

About the Author

John Kerry

Nonresident Scholar, Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program

John Kerry is a nonresident scholar the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Recent Work

Commentary
On Climate Change
- John Kerry
In The Media
America’s Crucial Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty With Russia
- John Kerry

Political Reform Security Foreign Policy Global Governance North America United States Western Europe

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary
Malaysia’s Year as ASEAN Chair: Managing Disorder
Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.
Elina Noor
Commentary
When It Comes to Superpower Geopolitics, Malaysia Is Staunchly Nonpartisan
For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.
Elina Noor
Commentary
Neither Comrade nor Ally: Decoding Vietnam’s First Army Drill with China
In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.
Nguyễn Khắc Giang
Commentary
Today’s Rare Earths Conflict Echoes the 1973 Oil Crisis — But It’s Not the Same
Regulation, not embargo, allows Beijing to shape how other countries and firms adapt to its terms.
Alvin Camba
Commentary
China’s Mediation Offer in the Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute Sheds Light on Beijing’s Security Role in Southeast Asia
The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.
Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary

Malaysia’s Year as ASEAN Chair: Managing Disorder

Malaysia’s chairmanship sought to fend off short-term challenges while laying the groundwork for minimizing ASEAN’s longer-term exposure to external stresses.

Elina Noor

Commentary

When It Comes to Superpower Geopolitics, Malaysia Is Staunchly Nonpartisan

For Malaysia, the conjunction that works is “and” not “or” when it comes to the United States and China.

Elina Noor

Commentary

Neither Comrade nor Ally: Decoding Vietnam’s First Army Drill with China

In July 2025, Vietnam and China held their first joint army drill, a modest but symbolic move reflecting Hanoi’s strategic hedging amid U.S.–China rivalry.

Nguyễn Khắc Giang

Commentary

Today’s Rare Earths Conflict Echoes the 1973 Oil Crisis — But It’s Not the Same

Regulation, not embargo, allows Beijing to shape how other countries and firms adapt to its terms.

Alvin Camba

Commentary

China’s Mediation Offer in the Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute Sheds Light on Beijing’s Security Role in Southeast Asia

The Thai-Cambodian conflict highlights the limits to China's peacemaker ambition and the significance of this role on Southeast Asia’s balance of power.

Pongphisoot (Paul) Busbarat