In the wake of the U.S. election, Emily Harding, Robin Niblett and James Harding kicked off the NOW conference in Austin by examining the geopolitical risks, alliances and power dynamics that could drive the global order. It was a provocative discussion, reflecting the precarious state of our world. As you'll hear, Emily and Robin offer some unsettling—and quite illuminating—insights.

 

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Guests

ben bayat

Emily Harding

Director, Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Emily Harding is director of the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology (INT) Program and deputy director with the International Security Program at CSIS. As the head of the INT Program, she provides thought leadership on the most critical issues facing intelligence professionals and on the future of intelligence work. She also serves as deputy director of the International Security Program, where she is responsible for leading a team of world-renowned scholars providing policy solutions that shape national security. Drawing on her decades of experience in national security, Emily has established herself as an expert on how technology is revolutionizing national security work. Harding has served in a series of high-profile national security positions at critical moments. While serving as deputy staff director on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, she led the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, which was lauded for its bipartisanship. At CIA, she led analysts and analytic programs through moments of crisis, including shepherding the Iraq Group during the attempted Islamic State takeover. During a tour at the National Security Council, she served as director for Iran. After leaving the White House, her team ran the first Office of the Director of National Intelligence-led presidential transition, where she was responsible for briefing the incoming administration. Harding is an adjunct lecturer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Her analysis has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, BBC, NPR, Bloomberg, and other outlets. Harding holds a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.  

robin niblett

Sir Robin Niblett

Distinguished Fellow, Chatham House

Sir Robin is a distinguished fellow at Chatham House after spending 15 years as its director and chief executive until 2022. He is also a distinguished fellow of the Asia Society Policy Institute and senior adviser to the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC. He is also principal of Ledwell Advisory, a risk advisory company. From 2001-06, Robin was executive vice president at CSIS, the largest foreign policy think tank in Washington D.C. During his time there, he also served as director of the CSIS Europe programme and its Initiative for a Renewed Transatlantic Partnership. Robin is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Geopolitics and has served as chair and member of other WEF Councils since 2012. He is a member of the FCDO’s Expert Group and was a special adviser to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (2015-17). He was chairman of the experts group for the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales and chair of the British Academy’s steering committee for its Languages for Security Project (2013). From January 2010–May 2020, he was a non-executive director of Fidelity European Values Investment Trust. Robin is the author of numerous reports on British, European and US foreign policy and his commentary and analysis have appeared in the world’s leading journals and newspapers such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Times, and The Guardian. He is a regular commentator on Bloomberg and CNN International and a speaker at major international conferences. He has testified to committees of the UK House of Commons, US Senate, and House of Representatives, and regularly briefs the senior executives and boards of global companies, financial institutions, and private foundations. He received his BA in Modern Languages and MPhil and DPhil in International Relations from New College, Oxford. 

 

Moderator

ben bayat

James Harding

Editor and Founder, Tortoise Media

James Harding is Editor and Founder of Tortoise Media. Prior to this, James was the Director of News and Current Affairs at the BBC, the world’s largest news organization. Prior to that, he was Editor of The Times of London, winning Newspaper of the Year in two of the five years he edited the paper. He was previously The Times’ Business Editor, having joined from The Financial Times, where he worked as Washington Bureau Chief, Media Editor and China correspondent, opening the paper’s bureau in Shanghai in 1996. He is the author of Alpha Dogs — How Political Spin Became a Global Business, and he presented On Background on the BBC World Service with Zanny Minton-Beddoes, editor of The Economist.  

 

 

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