The Divorce of Nations

'Who better to guide us through the chaotic world of the last 25 years than one who had a ringside seat for much that went on, and who writes about it with such insight and skill? This is a must read book.' - Sir Anthony Seldon, author of Truss at 10

'In my time working on Europe, João Vale de Almeida was the most important name in my address book: a view I suspect was widely shared.' – Lord Kim Darroch, former British ambassador to the United States

'This is a superb book: provocative, witty, erudite, sober - and sometimes sobering - but ultimately wise in its prescriptions.' - Sir Ivan Rogers, former UK Permanent Representative to the EU

'This book is a rare opportunity to look behind the diplomatic curtain and see events and the people who inspired them up close and personal.' - Baroness Catherine Ashton, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs

Today we are witnessing one of the most dangerous geopolitical situations of modern times, heralded by loud populist and nationalist voices, and steeped in uncertainty. But how did the nations of the world come to find themselves in such a predicament? Is the international liberal order condemned?

Drawing from decades of experience in Brussels, Washington, New York and London, one of the world's foremost diplomats lifts the veil on modern foreign affairs and enables us to trace how countries have been sleepwalking towards the 'Divorce of Nations', and the steps we can take to fix it.

Having met the most consequential global leaders since the turn of the millennium, Ambassador Vale de Almeida's insightful account features personal observances of figures such as Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Emmanuel Macron, Hu Jintao and Donald Trump. He also recalls the numerous times he met Vladimir Putin and the early warning signs and grievances the Russian leader aired in the run up to his incursions into Georgia and Crimea, which ultimately were the precursors to the full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Other key moments in his compelling narrative relate to the global response to the Great Financial Crisis, how the world shifted in the aftermath of 9/11, the opening up of China and how the world reacted to the Covid pandemic. The book also includes a personal and colourful account of the first 1,000 days of Brexit – the ultimate act of separation so far.

Based on contemporary notes and further reflections, The Divorce of Nations is a necessary and important book that enables us to move forward with better awareness and understanding of the current volatile and fragmented scene, at both national and global levels.



- Title

- Copyright

- Contents

- Author's Note

- Introduction: No Century for the Old Order

- 1. Rebel Without a Cause



- The End of the End

- 2001 and 2022: The Bookends



- 2. Behind the Scenes



- Putin, the Red Thread

- 'W' and the Crack in the Ceiling

- When Obama Blinked

- Trump's Hazardous Waste

- Americans, the Exceptional Isolationists

- Hu Out, Xi In, Hu Out (For Good)

- Pandemic Scars

- Foreign is the New Domestic



- 3. What's in a Quarter?



- Calendar Coincidences (or Not)

- 2001: An Earth Odyssey

- 2008: The Fall of Lehman and the Rise of Putin

- 2016: The Populist Takeover

- 2022: The Burial of an Illusion



- 4. A Cautionary Tale: The First 1,000 Days of Brexit Seen from Thatcher's Window



- Between the Palace and Number 10

- Narratives and Trust

- The Last (Messy) Mile



- 5. Breaking Up is Hard to Do



- The UK's Brexit Lockdown

- Standing the EU Ground or the Coolness Dividend

- Inside the Lion's Den

- Schmooze Politics

- There is Life after Brexit



- 6. Swimming Against the Tide



- The EU: A Long and Winding Road

- Barroso and a Window on the World

- The 'Mutti' Chancellor, the Captivating Prime Minister and the Effervescent President

- The Strange Animal

- G8/20: The High Table

- The UN: The Sky-Blue Chairs

- The Secretary-General: Three in One



- 7. And Now What? The EU, the West and the Divorce of Nations



- A Clear and Present Danger

- The EU's 'Bermuda Triangles'

- The West and the New Disorder

- We Will Always Have Gloria



- Afterword: The 'Grand Finale'

- Notes

- Acknowledgements



'This book is a rare opportunity to look behind the diplomatic curtain and see events and the people who inspired them up close and personal. Joao is a senior diplomat who has served the EU for forty years, holding the highest positions with distinction. His insights cast light on some of our darkest and most intriguing moments. A must read!'



'In this excellent book, João Vale de Almeida, the consummate EU insider, offers a thoughtful and insightful reflection on his various roles, not least steering a measured course through the choppy waters of Brexit as the first EU ambassador to the UK. He also challenges the EU to look up to find a way to embrace a successful future.'



'João Vale de Almeida spent twenty years in the engine room of the European ship of state during which it set sail, seemed founder but managed somehow to stay afloat. His penetrating and humane account warns against the dangers of fragmentation, but tries to understand rather than just excoriate. Geopolitics, he shows, always trumps geo-Economics. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the last two turbulent decades and where we might be heading next.'



'In my time working on Europe, João Vale de Almeida was the most important name in my address book: a view I suspect was widely shared. As José Manuel Barroso's Chef de Cabinet he wielded immense power and influence with charm, judgement and wisdom. He brings all of these qualities to bear in this brilliantly incisive and profound analysis of the disintegration of the post-war international order: compulsory reading for all of us who despair at the state we are in.'



'This is a superb book: provocative, witty, erudite, sober - and sometimes sobering - but ultimately wise in its prescriptions. João Vale de Almeida's illustrious diplomatic and policy making career - in Brussels, Washington, London and beyond - makes him supremely well placed to draw so many strands together from the seismic events of the first quarter of this century. He puts Brexit, Trump, and plenty besides in a sorely needed and rarely well understood wider context. This is not the work of some caricature faceless ivory tower technocrat out of touch with raw domestic politics. Very far from it: it's the reflections, brilliantly choosing the right vivid stories from his life at the top table to illustrate them, of someone wise enough to understand why the democratic world again faces acute, even existential, challenges, who offers invaluable perspectives on what we need to do to halt the slide towards the repetition in the 21st century of so many of the failures which led to the enormous tragedies and horrors of the 20th.'



'Who better to guide us through the chaotic world of the last 25 years than one who had a ringside seat for much that went on, and who writes about it with such insight and skill? This is a must read book.'



'João Vale de Almeida's book is an indispensable guide to the relationship between the UK and the EU, from the unique perspective of one who was the bloc's ambassador to this country for the first 1,000 days of the formal separation—or 'divorce' as he puts it. But the most striking passages come from the author's earlier career as advisor to the then EU president Barroso, where from 2005, he attended no fewer than fifteen meetings with Vladimir Putin: the Russian leader's tirades, described here, are all the more ominous, in retrospect.'



'Drawing on keen insights gleaned from his long career as a top diplomat, João Vale de Almeida skillfully investigates the crisis that has engulfed governance of the international system. He concludes by offering wise and judicious corrective steps – an essential "to-do" list for Europe and the broader international community.'