Science and Technology

One of the pitfalls of diplomacy, so the traditionalists assert, is when the representative of the foreign nation goes native. It is one thing to understand the country in which you are stationed; it is quite another to appreciate it too much. But what happens when, by all the available indices, that country really is a model to be emulated?

That is the problem that Ross Allen has grappled with during his five-year tenure as Britain’s ambassador to Estonia. As his posting comes to an end, he has written a eulogy toward the Baltic nation, which in foreign and security policy and the delivery of public services is setting the example for the world. It is appropriately called Estonian Lessons.

One of the pitfalls of diplomacy, so the traditionalists assert, is when the representative of the foreign nation goes native. It is one thing to understand the country in which you are stationed; it is quite another to appreciate it too much. But what happens when, by all the available indices, that country really is a model to be emulated?

That is the problem that Ross Allen has grappled with during his five-year tenure as Britain’s ambassador to Estonia. As his posting comes to an end, he has written a eulogy toward the Baltic nation, which in foreign and security policy and the delivery of public services is setting the example for the world. It is appropriately called Estonian Lessons.

His analysis broadly accords with mine in Braver New World, my new book, which looks at expressions of political courage, imagination, and resilience around the world.

Much of Estonia’s strength revolves around digital technology. It has the highest number of start-ups per capita and the second highest number of “unicorns” (start-ups that have grown to over $1 billion in value) per capita, after Israel but in front of Singapore and the United States. It is ranked among the most efficient systems of e-government,........

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