Between Three Worlds

Why do the world's most criticized career transitions-from intelligence services and diplomatic posts into corporate boardrooms-persist across every major economy?

Because, despite public suspicion, these systems work.

Between Three Worlds: Diplomat, Spy, and Businessperson Transitions Across Global Cultures is a groundbreaking exploration of how ten countries manage the movement of officials between government, intelligence, and private enterprise. Rather than judging these transitions as "good" or "bad," the book asks a more revealing question: How do these systems actually function-and what problems do they solve that formal institutions cannot?

Drawing on thirty years of lived experience across business, diplomacy, and intelligence work, the author examines the hidden mechanics behind the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Japan, India, the Gulf States, Russia, and Australia. From French pantouflage and Japan's amakudari to China's Party‑managed deployments and Russia's siloviki networks, each system reflects a distinct cultural logic shaped by history, power, and national strategy.

What sets this book apart is its dual focus on both diplomatic and intelligence transitions. While diplomatic moves are public and widely debated, intelligence officers' transitions into private enterprise remain largely invisible-yet carry far greater strategic and security implications. Between Three Worlds illuminates this shadow ecosystem at a moment when former CIA directors join corporate boards, ex‑diplomats become lobbyists, and intelligence professionals move into cybersecurity and risk consulting.

Written for corporate executives, policymakers, intelligence professionals, and readers of global affairs, this book offers a rare, insider‑level view of how modern power actually operates beneath the surface of official pronouncements. It reveals why these "revolving doors" endure, what tradeoffs different societies accept, and how these transitions shape global business, national security, and geopolitical risk.

The question isn't whether these transitions are right or wrong.

The question is what they reveal about power in the 21st century-and why no nation can function without them.