Professor Adil Najam, WWF’s Global President and Dean Emeritus and Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School, was invited to deliver the keynote address at the XIXth Summer School for Young Diplomats, held in Kolašin, Montenegro, making it his third year attending. Organized by Montenegro’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with UNDP and the country’s Diplomatic Academy, the annual program brought together young diplomats and foreign service professionals from nearly 50 countries for a week of training, dialogue, and collaboration on the future of diplomacy. This year marked not only the 19th installment of this program, but the 20th year of Montenegro’s independence.

Established as a center of excellence for professional development in diplomacy and international affairs, Montenegro’s Diplomatic Academy has long focused on preparing the next generation of diplomats through continuous learning, international cooperation, and the exchange of best practices. Since its founding in 2003, the Academy and its Summer School have grown into an important global forum where emerging diplomats can engage with senior policymakers, ambassadors, academics, and political leaders while building lasting international networks.

Dean Emeritus Adil Najam gives keynote address at the XIXth Summer School for Young Diplomats, held in Kolašin, Montenegro.

This year’s theme, “From Rules to Reality?”, invited participants to grapple with the uncertainties of a rapidly changing international order. In his keynote address, Najam challenged attendees to think critically about the assumptions underlying today’s geopolitical debates. Rather than focusing solely on concerns about the erosion of existing institutions and norms, he encouraged participants to ask deeper questions: “Whose Rules?” and “Whose Reality?”

He argued that while many lament the decline of the postwar international order, large parts of the world were never fully satisfied with the system as it existed. For the young diplomats in attendance, he suggested, the challenge is not simply to preserve the old order but to help shape what comes next. “While the world that was, is no more. It is not at all clear what the world will become,” Najam observed, urging participants to work toward making that emerging world “better, fairer, and kinder than what was, and what is.”

Najam also addressed the growing intersection of diplomacy, politics, and climate change. While political power and economic influence often attempt to shape global priorities, he reminded participants that the natural world operates according to its own rules. “In fact, the Rules of Nature will always trump the Rules of politics—that, too, is a Law of Nature,” he said, emphasizing the importance of integrating climate realities into diplomatic decision-making. As diplomats confront increasingly complex global challenges, from geopolitical rivalry to environmental change, his message highlighted the need for creative, forward-looking leadership grounded in both cooperation and realism.

Dean Emeritus Adil Najam gives keynote address at the XIXth Summer School for Young Diplomats, held in Kolašin, Montenegro.

The Summer School places particular emphasis on diplomacy’s role in maintaining international peace and security, responding to global crises, and developing new forms of political, economic, and security cooperation. Reflecting on the value of bringing together future diplomatic leaders from diverse backgrounds, Najam later noted, “This school is bringing people from across different countries to think together about the great problems of our time in diplomacy. I do think we have never needed it as much as we do today.” His remarks underscored the program’s longstanding mission of fostering dialogue, mutual understanding, and international cooperation among a new generation of diplomats.

Adil Najam is Dean Emeritus and Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. He served as the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies from 2014-2022. He is also a former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Read more about Najam on his Pardee School faculty profile.