On Tuesday 19^th May, we were delighted to welcome James Watt CVO, British Ambassador to Lebanon (2003-06), Jordan (2006-11) and Egypt (2011-14), to GSF.  In a lecture entitled ‘Democratic Illusions: The Lessons Of The Arab Spring’ chaired by Lord Lothian, he drew on his experience as British Ambassador to Egypt, and on the current examples of Syria, Libya and Yemen, to analyse how political turmoil has spread in the Arab world, and the policy challenges that continue to face the West.