John talks to world-renowned Stanford University Historian Niall Ferguson about global security, the perception of the West, the strength of alliances in the face of communist threats, and what China's rising power means for the geopolitical environment.

Niall Ferguson, MA, D.Phil., is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior fellow of the Centre for European Studies, Harvard, where he served for twelve years as the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History.

He is the author of fifteen books, most recently Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe. His previous book, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, won the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Prize. He is also an award-winning filmmaker, having won an international Emmy for his PBS series The Ascent of Money.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00:00 Intro
00:16 Introducing Niall Ferguson
01:06 Is there life left in the West's commitment to defending its values and freedoms?
06:27 The Australian and French submarine alliance
11:49 The danger of China and the West's leadership crisis
16:48 Foreign friendship bonds
22:58 What does an offensive strategy from China and the US look like?
28:21 What is China's greatest priority?
31:06 Is China's rise inevitable?
36:57 How does China perceive the West as a target?
42:37 Do Western alliances reset the perception of Western declinism?
48:16 How do we read the isolated Chinese public and their view of the West?
53:03 Catastrophism's grip on the West
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues.

John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate."

If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here:    / @johnandersonconversations  

And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/

Follow John on Twitter:   / johnandersonac  
Follow John on Facebook:   / johnandersonac  
Follow John on LinkedIn:   / john-anderson-ao  
Support the channel: https://johnanderson.net.au/support/
Website: https://johnanderson.net.au/
Podcast: https://johnanderson.net.au/podcasts/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow Niall on Twitter:   / nfergus  
Follow Niall on Facebook:   / niallcferguson  
Niall's website: http://www.niallferguson.com/