Olivia O’Sullivan: Lawrence, early in your career you spent six years here at Chatham House, running the British Foreign Policy Project between 1976 and 1982. We are here today to discuss its work, some of the future big names of British foreign policy it attracted, and how some of the issues challenging the governments of the day seem to loom large five decades later. What drew you to the project, and what was the mood like then?
Lawrence Freedman: What first attracted me was it seemed a more secure job than the one I had. Second, I worked for my PhD and at the International Institute for Strategic Studies on American and nuclear issues, and I wanted to broaden a bit. Also, the deputy director of Chatham House at the time was Ian Smart, whom I knew and admired. The other member of the team was Jocelyn Statler, who handled the administrative side.
