The Norwegian-flagged Nato warship A531 is moored next to HMS Belfast, a historic warship and museum, on the Thames in central London on February 23. Photo: AFP
Opinion
Andrew Hammond
Andrew Hammond
Russia and China challenges mount for Britain as it struggles to find a global role amid foreign policy drift
Britain has punched above its weight for years despite losing its status as a great power, but its global role is under increasing scrutiny
Domestic struggles and external challenges now leave it less able to bolster international security and economic prosperity when both are fragile
Former Conservative foreign secretary Douglas Hurd said in the 1990s that Britain had been able to “punch above its weight” in the post-war era despite no longer being a great power. That statement might have been true during much of the decades since, too, but it is under increasing scrutiny in the 2020s.
That is partly why the UK government this week released a refreshed foreign policy strategy for the new era of international relations, heralded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are multiple developments to welcome, but it does not answer growing questions about capability gaps that weaken UK national defence and undermine its contribution to Nato.
To be fair to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, many of these questions have plagued previous Conservative administrations in the past 13 years. The challenges faced by Conservative governments indicate that more than six decades after former US secretary of state Dean Acheson said that the UK had lost an empire but not yet found a new world role, its policy is drifting again. The issue of a UK grand strategy is a pressing one, and not just because of the Ukraine war.
Acheson made his remarks around the time of London’s first application to join the then-European Community in 1962. In the years that followed, it did find a new post-empire role, with a strong, influential international voice, powered through twin alliances with Europe and the US.
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UK and Japan sign major defence deal allowing easier troop deployments and joint exercises
UK and Japan sign major defence deal allowing easier troop deployments and joint exercises
However, challenges are mounting again. The government mantra of “Global Britain” is more of a slogan than a meaningful strategy. For years, UK governments have failed to articulate a grand strategy, offering instead policies, plans and political direction with budgets being the driver rather than the other way round.
In the past decade in particular, this seems to have resulted in foreign policy drift. With the Ukraine war a potential hinge point in world affairs, there is an urgent need for greater strategic clarity with several key areas of focus. As the latest Integrated Review indicates, a top priority should be the UK’s posture towards China and Russia. Both are key nations and engagement is needed.
Another key question is how productive the UK’s post-Brexit relationship will be with Brussels and the 27 European Union nations, especially with the agreement of the new Northern Ireland protocol. While this, the UK’s 2019 EU withdrawal deal and the 2020 UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement have given some definition to future ties, there is still much to be decided.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold a press conference at Windsor Guildhall on February 27 in Windsor, England. They met to sign off on the agreement on the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. Photo: TNS
Also vital is Britain’s future relationship with the US and President Joe Biden. Some UK policymakers harbour concerns about the nation’s enduring value to Washington now it can no longer be as effective in the role of what former prime minister Tony Blair called the “bridge” between Europe and the US.
One of the biggest questions is how much emphasis to put on regions such as the Asia-Pacific versus doubling down on the Euro-Atlantic posture following Russia’s invasion. As the review highlights, Nato, the EU and Europe as a geopolitical space will have central places, given that the UK’s top strategic aim remains the prosperity, stability and security of the continent which, as Winston Churchill said, is where the UK’s political weather comes from.
Britain has evolved in the post-war period into a European regional power. This is not to deny that London remains a significant player on the world stage as a permanent member of key forums such as the UN Security Council while also wielding considerable military, economic and soft power.
One of the mistakes Brexit opponents made during the 2016 referendum was a failure to better connect a sense of the UK’s importance and uniqueness to its continued membership of the EU. Moreover, arguments that Britain should behave more like an ordinary nation overlook its history as a world power, and politicians who talk down their country often suffer public backlash.
At the same time, some have overplayed the UK’s strengths. Talk of unlocking a new era of global trade in the 2020s has been muted by the reality of its bargaining power in a world shaped by global economic superpowers including the US and China.
These are burning issues for the UK and the rest of the world. A country that no longer punches so strongly on the international stage is also less able to bolster international security and economic prosperity at a time when both remain fragile.
Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics
