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About Aldo

Aldo Matteucci was a polymath and Diplo’s chief contrarian. His unique insights, based on erudite knowledge, had inspired Diplo’s teaching and research for decades.

Aldo was a former Deputy Secretary General of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). He graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) in Agriculture and from Berkeley in Agricultural Economics. Before joining EFTA, he researched East Africa and worked on rural development. Matteucci also held positions in the Swiss Federal Office of Economic Affairs and the EUREKA Secretariat in Brussels.

You can access hundreds of Aldo’s posts and articles here.

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The writing of Aldo Matteucci

Aldo Matteucci was a man of deep intellect, wide-ranging interests, and unmistakable warmth. His insights illuminated some of the world’s most complex challenges, from diplomacy and governance to economics and environmental sustainability. Throughout his work, Aldo emphasised that ideas – whether related to human behaviour, technology, or art – have the power to shape our reality.

What made Aldo’s writing particularly important was his ability to bridge disciplines like diplomacy, economics, environmental issues, and art. He not only offered sharp analysis but also connected these ideas with humanity’s future, showing how systems interact to impact real lives. His reflections encouraged action grounded in reason, logic, and empathy.

Whether addressing global inequality or advocating for collective action on environmental crises, his work was always rooted in a profound concern for our shared future. He connected fields that are often kept separate, merging art with analysis and poetry with diplomacy, building intellectual bridges between disciplines.

Today, when the world faces unprecedented global challenges, thinkers like Aldo are more necessary than ever – those who not only champion reason and logic but also act with compassion for humanity. His unique ability to blend rigorous thought with empathy remains an enduring example for us all.


The diplomatic ‘context specialist’ – an impossible ‘dream job’

Aldo Matteucci

20 May 2011

When I was involved in free trade agreement negotiations we would land, one afternoon, in the potential partner country, and begin the “exploratory talks” at once. I still remember driving into then war-scarred Be...

Complexity and diplomacy

Aldo Matteucci

08 September 2011

I know, Jovan has never forgiven me for this quip: “Diplomacy is where there are no rules” – yet there is more than a grain of truth inthis, and Pete's question about “complexity and diplomacy” allows me to ...

Notes from the barren shoals of international relations ‘theory’

Aldo Matteucci

06 February 2012

In the early 80’s, a few wine producers sold poisoned plonk to the public. People died. Why would producers deliberately kill off their customers - a new way of achieving “market share”? No. The wine was never i...

Copycat China

Aldo Matteucci

16 February 2012

YU Huan’s latest work[1] consists of two parts. The first five “words” with which he characterises China, recall his growing up in small town China (“they don’t even have bicycles there! - scoffed his mother...

Wisdom is what’s lost in translation – or – A story from the land of false friends

Aldo Matteucci

20 February 2012

In a recent blog[1]I commented on an op-ed by Mr. LI in the NYT. I sent the op-ed to an acquaintance of mine in Shanghai, asking whether he knew the author. I also remarked on what I perceived as provocative, even pol...

Uses and abuses of conspiracy theory

Aldo Matteucci

26 March 2012

When too many unknowns chase too few equations, one encounters the ‘over-determination problem’: too many possible explanations for the same phenomenon. There is no objective way to choose among them. Conspiracy t...

Is there a ‘public interest’?

Aldo Matteucci

13 April 2012

Public policy

Jovan has asked me to reflect on how to determine the “public interest”. As a lazy skeptic I’ve shied away from the subject. It is at the crossroads of epistemology, chaos theory, political science, and consciou...

When in doubt – scare

DiploFoundation

We all dream, like Alexander, of cutting the Gordian knot. We are all so in thrall of the story that we forget the basic fact: the knot tied something or the other together. Having cut rather than unwound the rope, th...

Putting planning on its head

Aldo Matteucci

I’m no friend of “top down” planning and have often chided anyone believing that this can be done meaningfully. Reality is messy, is my jaundiced view, and there are too many factors impinging on it: seeking out...

Is outcome a good measure of performance?

Aldo Matteucci

ChatGPT has sparked a debate about the roles of human and machine intelligence in writing and other creative activities. In the Aldo and AI project, we compare texts written by artificial intelligence to those written...

A ‘Thematic’ EU Parliament – A Novel Institution for Europe (II of 116)

DiploFoundation

04 June 2012

I’ve argued in 116 – The failed promise of the European Union unveiled (I) that in the EU free circulation does not obtain for politicians. Berlusconi would not stand a chance, if standing in Germany, and Ms Merke...

Great lesson in mediation by Swiss diplomat Olivier Long (Algeria negotiations 1961-1962)

Aldo Matteucci

Fifty years ago Algeria achieved its independence. Switzerland, and in particular Olivier LONG[1], a trade diplomat, deserves credit for acting as go-between quietly and effectively, between Algeria’s Provisional Go...

The power of small things

Aldo Matteucci

06 July 2012

The other day Jovan kindly suggested, in an eMail, that I “take a rest” after the shower of blog entries. The problem is – Sylvie and I are already taking a rest in God’s own country, aka Kerala, India. ...

Better safe than sorry?

Aldo Matteucci

10 July 2012

I’m no friend of the Precautionary Principle. It is not a principle, but a rhetorical device, which can justify action and inaction, depending on one’s fears, rather than rational analysis. A mathematics profe...

Don’t blame man, blame the Polynesian rat

Aldo Matteucci

15 July 2012

Katharina HÖHNE, in the www.diplomacy.edu blog[1], has argued the power of analogy. She is right. All of trigonometry is based on analogy. Syllogisms are analogies. Analogies are useful points of departure in Bayesia...

Analogies and metaphors as mental maps

Aldo Matteucci

19 July 2012

In her blog post, Katharina Höne, who initiated my blog post 'Don’t Blame Man, Blame the Polynesian Rat', replied to it in this way: In a very thoughtful piece titled ‘Don’t blame man, blame the Polynesian r...

BAUDRILLARD? I’ll admit to anything, Katharina!

Aldo Matteucci

Awh shucks, Katharina! Not BAUDRILLARD – it is forbidden by the UN Convention Against Mental Anguish. Being subjected to his thoughts is worse than enduring psychological torture at Abu Graib! BAUDRILLARD’...

Diplomacy and Web 2.0

Aldo Matteucci

30 August 2012

Where top is top And bott’m is bott’m Top down and bottom-up shall never meet What if they tweet?[1] Web 2.0 is about social networks: many individuals – particularly young ones - staying always clo...

Hidden in plain view – I

Aldo Matteucci

07 October 2012

It’s obvious (and efficient): we humans communicate differences and presume commonalities. When I speak I do not begin by explaining the extremely complex rules of grammar and syntax that underlie my sentences. ...

Anchoring a negotiation

Aldo Matteucci

14 October 2012

It’s a twisting lane winding its way between by squat buildings huddled together. People mill back and forth creating confusion. Small shops, following one another, spill trashy products onto the narrow passage. The...

Witter – twitter

Aldo Matteucci

16 November 2012

Cohesion within a group of monkeys is maintained through reciprocal grooming. Studies of captive monkeys have shown that grooming makes them more relaxed, reducing their heart rate as well as other external signs of s...

Is “Asia” in the making?

Aldo Matteucci

25 November 2012

I’ve come across a substantial study of European perceptions of “Asia”[1]. It is one of numerous similar studies as background to the ASEM process[2]. According to this study, research on perceptions is not ...

Climate change abatement and small countries

Aldo Matteucci

In a recent blog Katharina writes: “As much as “one state, one vote” rules or methods of consensus decision-making aim at giving the impression of resulting in a decision among equals, this is simply not the cas...

The soft underbelly of “soft” power – I

Aldo Matteucci

The vagueness of the concept If you want to be a public intellectual in the US, find the catchy turn of phrase and then beat the chicken-mint peas-mashed potatoes circuit with it, writing op-eds in the NYTimes on ...

The perfect internet storm

Aldo Matteucci

07 March 2013

And I alone am escaped to tell thee. JOB A recent article[1] described an instance of internet virality and its consequences for the people involved: “And then, on 5 March, Jason RUSSELL, working for the NGO...

Trent: the first multilateral negotiation

Aldo Matteucci

15 March 2013

Records of an international relations system go back to the mid-fourteenth century BC.[1] At that time already, treaties were signed. Brides were exchanged. Relations between extractive elites focused on the balance o...

Is “proportionality in war” OK?

Aldo Matteucci

26 March 2013

A landmark document created at the request of NATO has proposed a set of rules for how international cyberwarfare should be conducted. Written by 20 experts in conjunction with the International Committee of the Red C...

Climate-change refugees: A misleading analogy

DiploFoundation

08 April 2013

I shall begin with an analogy. “Killing two birds with one stone” is a nice metaphor for what I am about to do: reply to two blogs in one go. Yes, Katharina: we live by analogies. Since hundreds of millions of ...

Taking the long view on Balochistan

Aldo Matteucci

18 April 2013

Balochistan, in the north of West Pakistan (Quetta is capital), does not get much international press coverage. The Carnegie Endowment for Peace has just published a lengthy report on the politics of the region https:...

The uncertain future of national borders

Aldo Matteucci

19 April 2013

With the emergence of the nation state national borders became a Western obsession. Every bit of the globe was carved up, with ruler and pencil if need be (see Africa in 1884). Predictably, long-term issues...

Piercing the fog of ambiguities

Aldo Matteucci

27 April 2013

I’ve been reading a prominent French social anthropologist, Alain TESTART. His critical analysis of the concept of “gift”[1] in anthropology is nothing short of exact. Reading the text is akin to intellectual Pi...

A brain made transparent

Aldo Matteucci

30 May 2013

I have been arguing recently that the XXIst century will be the century when we'll bring together what is known (rather than speculated) about man and society. This will transform societies in way we can barely begin ...

What are vanity and interstitial states?

Aldo Matteucci

26 March 2014

Diplomats nowadays like to speak of states, rogue states, failed states – but they hardly refer to ‘vanity’ and ‘interstitial’ states. Let me explore these categories: they may become more relevant or common...

Third-party counterinsurgency: Evolution and challenges

Aldo Matteucci

08 December 2014

Since ISIS has crashed onto the Middle-East scene, counterinsurgency (COIN) has received a new lease on life. Pundits have opined on how best to defeat this novel insurgency. Being ignorant of the matter, I have looke...

The Trump swerve

Aldo Matteucci

01 April 2016

Where minds differ and opinions swerve there is scant a friend in that company. Elizabeth I Donald Trump, a New York based businessman, formally announced his candidacy for the presidency in the 2016 election on...

A tale of influencers

Aldo Matteucci

Behold America: A history of America First and the American Dream (Sarah Churchwell, 2018, p. 356): History is not ancestral memory or collective tradition. It is what people learned from priests, schoolmasters, t...

The abuse of analogies: Upon reading the article ‘Reading the CCP Clearly’

Aldo Matteucci

The pivoting argument in the article ‘Reading the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] Clearly’ by Perry Link (The New York Review of Books, 11 February 2021 issue) on US policy toward China is the topos of appeasement v...

Of topoi and memes

Aldo Matteucci

20 April 2021

Social media

I’ll admit to a prejudice. I dislike Richard Dawkins, the emeritus professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford. Holding such a pompous title is enough to warrant a demerit. Dawkins is broadly known for ...

Wreckers are as important as builders

Aldo Matteucci

02 August 2022

I was reading Eric Hobsbawn’s excellent eulogy on Tony Judt this rainy morning. One sentence struck me. Speaking of the end of the Communist system, this Marxist historian stated: The real heroes of the period [i.e...

Two kinds of conversation: Dialectic and dialogic

Aldo Matteucci

Ancient Greece developed a unique way of settling disagreements among cities: hoplites met in a plain, fought for a day and abided by the outcome. ‘For those men, the purpose was now to settle the entire business, i...

News, newsworthiness and ‘truths’

Aldo Matteucci

13 April 2023

Media

An Oxford Don (or Doña? – since my friend Bi is a lady) called me up the other day. She had been asked to participate in the seminar Translation and Language in the Media, and asked me for my three-penny worth of o...

The border-making process in Africa

Aldo Matteucci

When I first mentioned to a diplomatic friend my intention of writing a blog entry on 'diplomats without borders', I was met with incredulity. 'Diplomats are the peacetime gate keepers at the border! You can’t have ...

Diplomats as vassals: The Tang dynasty (618–907 CE)

Aldo Matteucci

The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) was an era of economic and cultural development (some would say 'China's best moment') during which 'the world' paid homage and tribute to the Middle Kingdom. Trade flourish...

Diplomatic realism: Nixon, Kissinger, and Pakistan

Aldo Matteucci

27 May 2023

Kissinger demanded that Nixon stand firm [in supporting Pakistan]. 'If the outcome of this war is that Pakistan is swallowed up by India, China is destroyed, defeated, humiliated by the Soviet Union, it will be a chan...

How does a society stop the use of terror?

Aldo Matteucci

05 June 2023

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Societies evolve. We have no idea of how it happens, but in a short time societies can be transfo...

Ancient Greece vs Rome vs Islam: Democracy and inequality

Aldo Matteucci

'Do good institutions—democracy and the rule of law—promote growth? Or are good institutions only made possible by the prior development of a thriving economy?' In his article Advice From Antiquity: Economic Lesso...

Severed British–Ugandan ties: The British Interests Section in Kampala, 1976/7

Geoff Berridge

27 June 2023

This post was adapted from Prof. G. R. Berridge's article The British Interests Section in Kampala, 1976-7 What is an interests section? States which have broken off direct bilateral ties are now commonly repres...

Is war a biological trait?

Aldo Matteucci

03 July 2023

Editorial note: In 2012, Diplo Senior Fellow Aldo Matteucci wrote a blog post on the causes of war. Today, we are revisiting the same issues as the number of conflicts are increasing worldwide. What makes us humans fi...

The Comanche: A short life of raiding

Aldo Matteucci

22 July 2023

For the reflective manIs the creation simply a circle of greed?The ocean is certainly not agitatedBy fish flashing about – Bhartṛhari In 1706, the Numunuu Native American tribe moved from the west to the dom...

Will your past achievements prevent your next promotion?

Aldo Matteucci

16 September 2023

The Peter Principle states very simply: 'In any hierarchy, an employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence and that's where he stays.' – Laurence J. Peter, 1974, BBC 'Past performance is no indicator ...

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