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Foreign Policy & Security Blogs

Merkel’s harsh words on Brexit played to her German audience – but the UK should still take note
Germans have elections, too. It was at a campaign event in Bavaria that the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, made a statement that has been interpreted as having grave implications for the cohesiveness of the Euro-Atlantic alliance. “The times in which we could...

After the general election, we need to re-define our national interest for a changing world
John Bew — Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World project — argues that as the world changes around us, Britain needs a serious debate about what constitutes its national interest that goes beyond the Brexit negotiations

Police can’t stop terror alone – we must do more
Last week’s attack in Manchester confirms that jihadist terrorism poses the greatest threat to British national security. Much of what has emerged so far about the bomber, Salman Abedi, fits a typical profile: a man in his 20s, raised in an immigrant family in the UK...

Manchester attack brings renewed prominence to debate around Britain’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent
Last week’s terrorist attack in Manchester has brought renewed prominence to the debate around Britain’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent. A concerted campaign to discredit Prevent has seeped into both elements of the public sector and prevailing thinking on the political left. The success of the ‘Preventing Prevent’ campaign, however, depends on a misunderstanding of the distinction between theology and ideology as well as the radicalising impact of an Islamist ideology, one to which many of the strategy’s most prominent detractors adhere. Understanding the anti-Prevent campaign is one way in which the authorities can more effectively disrupt extremists – a fundamental component of counter-terrorism work.

The Importance of Bilateral Collaboration in International Counter-Terrorism Investigations
Writing for Policy Exchange, Richard Walton — former Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command — dissects recent statements that Brexit has left Britain more vulnerable to terrorism. Contrary to claims by his former colleague Sir Hugh Orde and the former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Walton observes that international bodies such as Interpol and Europol are far less important to “upstream” international CT investigations than bilateral collaboration between nations. Walton’s analysis for Policy exchange featured on the Today programme and in The Sun.

Britain’s voters are united on defence – now the election should provide a bold vision for it
Writing in The Telegraph, Professor John Bew, Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World Project, argues that defence should be at the forefront of the election campaign

‘Trumplandia’?
Donald Trump’s effectiveness as a political candidate in the Republican primaries, and the electoral college success that put him in the White House, has unnerved political commentators and the policy establishments in his own party and beyond. On entering office,...

Why Donald Trump launched his air strike on Assad in Syria
In his new piece for the New Statesman, John Bew — Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World project — reflects on why Donald Trump launched his air strike on Assad in Syria

The Gibraltar row shows “the balance of power” is back in European affairs
Writing for the New Statesman, John Bew — Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World project — comments on the “diplomatic storm in a teacup” that has erupted over Gibraltar

NATO has an EU problem as well as a Trump problem: What role can Britain play in helping mend the alliance?
Writing in The Telegraph, Professor John Bew, Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World Project and Gabriel Elefteriu, Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World Research Fellow, ask what Britain can do to fix the fact that Nato is under threat from the EU and Donald Trump