Chatham House
am sorry that Brian Crozier ended a con- structive review of some Chatham House books in your issue of March 12 by a rather generalised sneer at 'recent staff appointments' and 'contribut- ors' lists in Chatham House publications.' If he means contributors to the two journals, a glance at the lists for the last year or two will show that the authors cover as wide a range of opinion among statesmen and scholars as anyone could ask—from Chc Guevara to Dr. Salazar and from Brian Crozier to Victor Purcell. There may be a higher incidence of controversy than there once was, but not a lower level of authority or expertise.
I can only speculate on his ground for com- plaint at 'recent staff appointments,' but it may be useful to state what change has actually occurred over the last five to ten years. Firstly, there has been a drop in average age of some fifteen to twenty years. Secondly, there has been a deliberate policy of promoting more discussion of current problems --for instance, in the new paperback series of Chatham House Essays--and rather less purely de- scriptive background material.
The work of Chatham House nowadays requires closer co-operation than ever before with centres of international study in other countries. All of these concentrate their efforts on the unsolved problems of the present and future and all rely on the finan- cial assistance of the great Foundations which, in their turn, arc primarily interested in the same questions. Chatham House must therefore recruit people who can make a contribution in this necessarily controversial and often polemical field. The price of such a policy is likely to be occasional disapproval in some quarters of some publications, but the gain in stimulus to fresh thought is correspondingly great.
It is not for use to claim that all 'recent staff
appointments' have been inspired. But if the demand for the participation of Chatham House staff in reputable international conferences, symposia and the like Is any guide, then the last five to ten years has certainly seen not a deterioration but a very
marked rise in the standing of Chatham House staff among those engaged in the study of international affairs in Britain, Europe and the United States.
'KENNETH YOUNGER
Director Royal Institute of international Affairs. Chatham House, SW!
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