If democracy is to be rebuilt … it is necessary not just for the public to learn to trust their politicians, but for the politicians to learn to trust the public. — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
Change can only come from local citizens and politicians - it cannot be imposed by well-meaning foreigners - not least because a society like Afghanistan or Iraq is suspicious of outsiders and often resistant to change. I am not going… — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable. — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
If a relationship is going wrong, if a marriage is going wrong, the answer cannot simply be to say, 'You can't afford to break… — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
“He [Babur] was a ype of mastiff, bred to fight against wolves, dogs, and humans. . . . The mastiff is perhaps the oldest breed of dog in the world. . . . The dogs of Ghor . . . were always regarded as particularly special mastiffs. . . . 'so powerful that in frame and strength every one of them is a match for a lion.” — Rory Stewart Copy Share
The politicians think the journalists have power, the journalists think bankers have power, bankers think lawyers have power. The truth is, nobody has power. — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
“I recited and followed this song-of-the-places-in-between as a map.” — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
The Afghan government is much better informed, much more intrusive and ambitious than I had guessed. There are amazing craftsmen in Kabul but few designers and wage rates are astonishingly high - which is a problem when trying to support and promote Afghan craft exports. The community in Murad Khani in the old city - who we are helping to… — Rory Stewart Copy Share
I have planted over 6,000 trees at home in Scotland, some of them oak. I'd like my children to be able to watch them grow. — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
If things are going wrong in a country, it's not usually that we don't have enough foreigners. It's usually that we have too many. — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the… — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
“My feet beat out a steady muffled rhythm. My thoughts participated in each step, never getting ahead of me.” — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about… — Rory Stewart Copy Share Image
