Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy joins Hoover’s Andrew Roberts for a wide-ranging, engrossing discussion in the latest episode of Secrets of Statecraft, recorded on June 4 and released June 18.
In “Nicolas Sarkozy’s ‘Certain Idea of France,’” the conservative French politician speaks to Roberts about his electoral successes (and failures), why it’s in everyone’s interest that France always remain close with Germany, and his views on Brexit.
Sarkozy, who served as the twenty-third president of France from 2007 to 2012, also spoke to Roberts about how he sees the Russo-Ukraine war ending, changes that are needed to reform the UN Security Council, and why too many people are overlooking the role Africa will play in the remainder of the twenty-first century.
Roberts, the Bonnie and Tom McCloskey Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a noted historian, wrote the foreword to the forthcoming book by Louis Sarkozy (Nicolas’s son), Napoleon’s Library: The Emperor, His Books and Their Influence on the Napoleonic Era, which comes out July 30.
Roberts himself wrote a book about Napoleon, alongside other biographies including his magisterial Churchill: Walking with Destiny and The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III.
Secrets of Statecraft is a bimonthly podcast devoted to exploring the effect that the study of history has had on the careers of major public figures.
The title is taken from Winston Churchill’s reply on Coronation Day 1953 to a young American who had asked him for life advice, to whom he said, “Study history, study history, for therein lie all the secrets of statecraft.”
Since the podcast premiered in 2022, Roberts has interviewed other prominent world leaders, including former UK prime minister David Cameron, current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott, and former Colombian president Iván Duque.
He also spoke with prominent members of the Trump administration, including former attorney general William Barr and former national security advisors John Bolton and Robert O’Brien.
Listeners can hear Secrets of Statecraft at Hoover.org, X, YouTube, and wherever podcasts are hosted.
