MARK LEONARD
GEOPOLITICAL ANALYST | CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS | AUTHOR OF ‘THE AGE OF UNPEACE’ | EXPERT ON CHINA, EU POLITICS & GEOECONOMICS
BOOK SPEAKER
MARK LEONARD
Mark Leonard is a leading analyst and commentator on international affairs, geopolitics and geoeconomics. He is the Director and Co-Founder of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a council of 300 European leaders including serving and former presidents, prime ministers, economics and foreign ministers, the first pan-European think tank. His expertise and interests include geopolitics and geoeconomics, China, EU politics and institutions.
For Mark’s Full Bio see below.
Media:
China’s Game in Gaza: How Beijing Is Exploiting Israel’s War to Win Over the Global South
Books:
‘Why Europe will run the 21st Century‘, (2005) translated into 19 languages.
‘What does China think?’ (2008) translated into 15 languages.
‘The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict‘ (2021)
COMPELLING TOPICS THAT IGNITE CHANGE
GEOPOLITICS & GLOBALISATION IN A FRAGMENTING WORLD
How geopolitics is reshaping globalisation, finance, technology, and the flow of people. Mark Leonard, a regular contributor at Davos and author of The Age of Unpeace, examines how global connectivity is now a source of competition, conflict, and control—and what that means for business, diplomacy, and security.
THE NEXT CHINA SHOCK: WHAT GLOBAL LEADERS NEED TO KNOW
From inside China’s intellectual and political circles, Mark Leonard decodes the shifting strategies of the world’s second-largest economy. Drawing from his bestsellers What Does China Think? and China 3.0, he explores how new thinking in Beijing may trigger a ‘New China Shock’ with wide-reaching consequences for global stability, innovation, and trade.
US–CHINA RIVALRY: WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD
A compelling look at the defining geopolitical contest of our time. Having lived in both countries, Mark explores the US–China relationship across economics, tech, regulation, and military influence—and how this high-stakes competition is reshaping global alliances, supply chains, and policy decisions.
EUROPEAN POLITICS AFTER COVID: A SHIFTING POWER LANDSCAPE
What lies ahead for the European Union in the wake of Covid-19? Based on polling across 14 countries and direct insight from Europe’s power players, Mark unpacks the political shifts shaping post-pandemic Europe—including the future of Germany, post-Brexit Britain, and EU cohesion.
EUROPEAN STRATEGIC SOVEREIGNTY: REGAINING CONTROL IN A DIVIDED WORLD
As global power shifts, how can Europe avoid being caught in the crossfire? Mark brings insight from advising over a dozen EU governments to explain how strategic sovereignty is reshaping Europe’s investment, regulatory, and diplomatic frameworks—and what this means for companies and citizens.
GERMANY AFTER MERKEL: THE FUTURE OF EUROPE’S POWERHOUSE
With Germany at a crossroads, Mark Leonard—dual British-German national and leading EU commentator—offers an insider’s look at Germany’s political evolution, economic recalibration, and its role in shaping Europe’s post-Merkel identity.
BRANDING NATIONS: STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION IN A COMPETITIVE ERA
From authoring the iconic Britain™ report to advising governments worldwide, Mark shares a practitioner’s perspective on how countries can shape global perception, rebuild trust, and project influence. He unpacks how public diplomacy and national branding have evolved—and why they matter now more than ever.
THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE GREEN DEAL: RISKS AND REALIGNMENTS
Europe’s climate ambitions come with major foreign policy consequences. Mark outlines how the European Green Deal could affect EU relations with Russia, China, the US, and Middle East nations—highlighting the unintended consequences and strategic trade-offs of climate leadership.
BIOGRAPHY
Mark Leonard is a leading analyst and commentator on international affairs, geopolitics and geoeconomics. He is the Director and Co-Founder of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a council of 300 European leaders including serving and former presidents, prime ministers, economics and foreign ministers, the first pan-European think tank. His expertise and interests include geopolitics and geoeconomics, China, EU politics and institutions.
As well as writing and commenting frequently in the media on global affairs, Leonard is author of three major books on geopolitics. His most recent book is ‘The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict“(2021). This major new book shows shows how geopolitics is reshaping the global economy as all the things that bind us together – supply chains, infrastructure, migration, the internet – are turned into weapons and currencies of power. Of the book, Anne Marie Slaughter said …strikingly original, developing new language and a new framework to capture and analyse the way the world’s progress and perils are inextricably intertwined.’
His first book, ‘Why Europe will run the 21st Century‘, was published in 2005 and translated into 19 languages. Leonard’s second book, ‘What does China think?’ was published in 2008 and translated into 15 languages.
Mark hosts the weekly podcast “Mark Leonard’s World in 30 Minutes” and writes a syndicated column on global affairs for Project Syndicate.
Previously he worked as director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and as director of the Foreign Policy Centre, a think tank he founded at the age of 24 under the patronage of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the 1990s, Leonard worked for the think tank Demos where his Britain™ report was credited with launching Cool Britannia. Mark has spent time in Washington, D.C. as a Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and in Beijing as a visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences.
He was Chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Geoeconomics until 2016. Honoured as a “Young Global Leader” of the World Economic Forum, he spends a lot of time helping governments, companies, and international organisations make sense of the big geo-political trends of the twenty-first century. He is a regular speaker and prolific writer and commentator on global issues, the future of Europe, China’s internal politics, and the practice of diplomacy and business in a networked world.
His essays have appeared in publications such as Foreign Affairs, the Financial Times, the New York Times, Le Monde, Süddeutsche Zeitung, El Pais, Gazeta Wyborcza, Foreign Policy, the New Statesman, the Daily Telegraph, The Economist, Time, and Newsweek.
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