Andrew John Williamson Memorial Public Lecture 2025
At a moment of acute geopolitical instability, the Andrew John Williamson Public Lecture, delivered by General Sir Patrick Sanders, will reflect on Antonio Gramsci’s enduring observation.
About Andrew John Williamson Memorial Public Lecture 2025
This years Andrew John Williamson Lecture will be delivered by General Sir Patrick Sanders, who will reflect on Antonio Gramsci’s enduring observation:
“The old world is dying, the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”
The lecture will consider the implications of this insight for the contemporary West at a moment of acute geopolitical instability. After more than eight decades of relative peace and prosperity, sustained by the post-war international order, we now confront an era marked by disruptive change, insecurity, and the erosion of strategic confidence.
Sir Patrick will address a series of pressing questions:
What structural forces are driving this turbulence?
What are the potential consequences of failing to respond effectively?
What strategies and measures might be adopted to enhance our security?
To what extent do states and societies retain agency in shaping the emerging order?
Although this is a period of profound risk, the lecture will also consider grounds for cautious optimism—what Ian Dury once called “Reasons to be Cheerful.”
Timings :
17:00 - Doors open / Registration
17:30 - Lecture Starts
18:45 - Approximate Finish
Location: Pathfoot Lecture Theatre, University of Stirling
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