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Can the West Hold Together? Lessons from WWII with Tim Bouverie and Michael Gove

History &
Social Policy

A timely conversation on the hard truths of international cooperation

‘There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.’ – Winston Churchill

In a world where geopolitical alliances are fraying and tensions are rising, what can the fragile coalition that defeated Hitler teach us about the challenges facing the West today?

In September 2025 historian Tim Bouverie came to the Intelligence Squared stage to discuss his Sunday Times bestselling book Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler. In conversation with Editor of The Spectator Michael Gove, Bouverie described how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin overcame deep ideological differences and strategic rivalries to form a fragile but ultimately victorious alliance against Nazi Germany.

Now, with Donald Trump threatening to abandon NATO, Vladimir Putin intent on exploiting Western fissures, and democratic nations questioning their own cohesion, the lessons of WWII’s Grand Alliance have never felt more relevant.

 

Praise for Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler

‘A major work of original history that is a pleasure to read’  – Richard J Evans, The New Statesman  

‘The best book I have ever read about the politics of the Second World War’  – Tim Shipman 

‘Tim Bouverie’s remarkable study, Allies at War, finds extremely timely lessons in the story of the Second World War’s diplomatic relations’ — Andrew Roberts, The Telegraph 

Speakers for the motion

  • Tim Bouverie

    Author of the Sunday Times bestseller Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler

Featuring

  • Michael Gove

    Editor of The Spectator

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Speaker

Tim Bouverie

Author of the Sunday Times bestseller Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler

Tim Bouverie is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler and Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain Churchill and the Road to War, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. He studied history at Christ Church Oxford and was the 2021 Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford. 
Host

Michael Gove

Editor of The Spectator

Michael Gove is the Editor of The Spectator. He served in Cabinet across five government departments for more than a decade. After being elected as an MP in 2005, Michael was elevated to the shadow frontbench before joining David  Cameron’s Cabinet in the first Conservative-led government in 13 years. Serving as Secretary of State for Education, he steered through some of the biggest changes to education in half a century. He went on to serve in the cabinets of three of the four subsequent Prime Ministers, including as Chief Whip, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Secretary of State for Justice, for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.