When Tony Blair left his 10-year position as prime minister of the United Kingdom in 2007, he did not quite withdraw into retirement. Instead, he put his knowledge of global affairs to good use and launched the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, to promote the benefits of faith and understanding in a globalized world.
Blair spoke to an audience of more than 700 at the Fairmont Chicago Hotel, 200 N. Columbus Drive, on Wednesday night about his foundation and its goals. The program was part of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ spring series on the modern role of politics and faith.
Blair discussed Middle East conflicts and defended the U.K. and United States’s decision to intervene and attempt to bring democracy to the region.
“I still believe those who oppress their citizens are better put out,” Blair said. “Democracy is not a western value, it is a human value.”
He went on to outline six elements of a “strategy for victory,” which he said has to be “broader, more comprehensive, and also more sharply defined.”
His points included the necessity of patriotism in supporting those who are called upon to fight and the need for U.S. and U.K. citizens to reach out to their Islamic allies.
“Extremists are louder, but not better-organized,” Blair said. “We need to support these allies to let their voices be heard.”
Blair also argued for the combination of hard and soft power.
“We have to fight what we are being fought against,” he said. “Finally, we have to rediscover some confidence and conviction in who we are, how far we’ve come and what we believe in.”
Blair took several opportunities during his speech to refute the claims of his opponents. He acknowledged that extremism survives on the fringe of society, saying “there are people who are crazy – leave them to be crazy.”
“But they won’t leave us in the comfort of our lives,” he said. “We have not caused this phenomenon, but what we do now can defeat it.”
Among those in attendance was Weinberg sophomore Daniel Andreeff, a member of Northwestern University’s Model United Nations, who went with other club members and friends from his dorm.
“I thought it was a great speech,” he said. “I thought his defense of interventionist foreign policy and the way he incorporates hard and soft power to solve foreign policy problems was great.”
Eileen Driscoll also attended and agreed with Blair’s viewpoints, which she said she found to be persuasive.
“His speech was very much a kind of rally call, and it sends a good message,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “It reminds people that the West still has all these good values.”
Blair’s presentation garnered several rounds of applause and standing ovations from the audience, composed mostly of Chicago-area businessmen and -women. However, outside the hotel a dozen protesters shouted, “New world order is not new and it’s not order.”
“They were using megaphones because they don’t have an audience,” Driscoll said. “They’re hecklers and I didn’t pay attention to it.”
