Ideas worth spreading

A complicated hero in the war on dictatorship

615,353 views | Samantha Power • TED2008

Would you negotiate with someone you knew to be evil, to save lives? Samantha Power tells a story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello. This UN diplomat walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world's worst dictators to help their people survive crisis. It's a compelling story told with a fiery passion.

Would you negotiate with someone you knew to be evil, to save lives? Samantha Power tells a story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello. This UN diplomat walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world's worst dictators to help their people survive crisis. It's a compelling story told with a fiery passion.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Samantha Power

Political scientist and journalist

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Samantha Power studies US foreign policy, especially as it relates to war and human rights. Her books take on the world's worst problems: genocide, civil war and brutal dictatorships.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.