- Singapore
Samir Puri Keynote Speaker
- Inaugural Director, Centre for Global Governance and Security, Chatham House (2025).
- Former UK diplomat and ceasefire monitor in Donbas. And former IISS-Asia Senior Fellow in Singapore.
- Bestselling author of Westlessness (2024), Russia’s Road to War With Ukraine (2022), and The Great Imperial Hangover (2021).
Samir Puri's Biography
Dr Samir Puri is a noted expert in geopolitics and a best-selling author. In 2025 he was the inaugural Director of Chatham House’s ‘Centre for Global Governance and Security’, working at the cutting edge of advising on how geopolitical instability is reshaping world order.
A former British diplomat, he has also held teaching positions in leading universities and in prestigious think tanks. He is able to engage expert and general audiences alike on the many sources of instability around the world, from breaking events to longer-term trends.
Dr Puri served in the UK Foreign Office between 2009 and 2015, including spending a year living in East Ukraine and monitoring Russia’s first invasion. After government service, he was a Lecturer in King’s College London teaching War Studies. In 2020 he moved to Singapore, where for three years he helped run the annual Shangri la Dialogue, a summit that covers Asian security.
His most recent book, published in 2024, is called ‘Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing’ The book considers the different aspects of changing power balances in the world. The Times Literary Supplement described it as ‘detailed, engaging and well-supported.
‘Westlessness’ is his fifth book, following his most recent publications, ‘Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine’, (2022) which was described as ‘stimulating and thoughtful’ by the Financial Times; and ‘The Great Imperial Hangover’, (2021) described as ‘well written, comprehensive and judicious’ by Fareed Zakaria in the New York Times.
Samir Puri's Speaking Topics
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International Affairs and Security
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War in Ukraine
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Asian Security
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The New Multi-Polar Era
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Imperial History
Why Book Samir Puri as a speaker?
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He sits at the cutting edge of global geopolitics as the inaugural Director of Chatham House’s Centre for Global Governance and Security, advising on how instability is reshaping international order and what it means for decision-makers.
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He brings first-hand diplomatic and field experience from the UK Foreign Office, including a year in Eastern Ukraine monitoring Russia’s first invasion, giving leaders grounded insight into escalation, deterrence and conflict risk.
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He translates fast-moving geopolitical shocks and long-term power shifts into clear strategic frameworks that help boards and executives stress-test plans, anticipate disruption and protect value.
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He combines policy credibility with academic rigour, drawing on experience teaching War Studies and working across leading security institutions to engage both expert and general audiences with authority and clarity.
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He is a best-selling author whose recent work on the global rebalancing beyond the West equips organisations to understand emerging centres of influence and communicate confidently in a more multipolar world.
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