Britain In The World
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In Defence of Collective Security
As Putin celebrates another election victory, today’s Labour party should remember that there can be no coherent response to the Russian provocation without an appreciation of how our collective security is underscored by NATO and the role Labour played in its creation. In a new essay, In Defence of Collective Security, Professor John Bew, Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World project and an award winning biographer of Clement Attlee, argues that our current system of Western security, based on NATO, was painstakingly put in place by Attlee and Ernest Bevin and that the current Labour leadership betrays that legacy.

Beyond Brexit: Essential reading on international affairs and security in a changing world
Policy Exchange is delighted to announce that Professor John Bew, Head of Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World Project, has been appointed as a specialist adviser to the Foreign Affairs Committee’s inquiry into ‘Global Britain’. To mark that appointment, we publish a new reading list, Beyond Brexit: Essential reading on international affairs and security in a changing world, compiled by Professor Bew, Gabriel Elefteriu, Jamie Gaskarth and Patrick Porter.

Undersea Cables: Indispensable, insecure
We must do more to protect the indispensable yet insecure internet infrastructure provided by undersea cables, urges Rishi Sunak MP in a new report published by Policy Exchange, Undersea Cables: Indispensable, insecure. 97% of global communications and $10 trillion in daily financial transactions are transmitted not by satellites in the skies, but by cables lying deep beneath the ocean. Undersea cables are the indispensable infrastructure of our time, essential to our modern life and digital economy, yet they are inadequately protected and highly vulnerable to attack at sea and on land, from both hostile states and terrorists.
Latest Blogs

Commonwealth Summit – A new opportunity for an old institution?
Does the presence of an Indian Prime Minister after several years of absence, Brexit and a return to great power politics offer a new role for the Commonwealth?

The collective action to Russia was in part a result of the UK’s firm unilateral response
Policy Exchange’s Professor John Bew, whose essay on the Skripal affair was discussed on the Today programme, argues that the UK’s initial response to Russian aggression paved the way to wider, collective action.

An American perspective on Pesco: The dangers of de-linking EU defence from NATO
US Army officer T.S. Allen discusses the launch of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (Pesco) at last month’s European Council summit. While there may be benefits in terms of improvements in capabilities, there is a danger that Pesco represents a trend towards de-linking European defence from NATO in search of EU ‘strategic autonomy’.
Latest News

Policy Exchange experts dominate MPs’ reading list
Two of Policy Exchange’s experts are among the most read authors in Parliament, a new Freedom of Information request has revealed. Road to Somewhere, by Policy Exchange’s Head of Demography, Immigration and Integration David Goodhart (longlisted for this year’s Orwell Prize) was the second most borrowed book in the House of Commons, behind only ‘How Parliament Works’. The Head of our Britain in the World Project Professor John Bew’s Orwell Prize-winning Citizen Clem was also one of the most borrowed books in the House of Commons in 2017. Both books were named last year by the Observer among their 100 best political books.

Policy Exchange welcomes Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Policy Exchange was delighted to host an event with the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Julie Bishop. She testified to the strength of the relationship between Australia and the UK ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in April.

Policy Exchange’s Gabriel Elefteriu discusses the future of UK defence on Radio 4
Policy Exchange’ Senior Research Fellow for Defence and Border Security, Gabriel Elefteriu, appeared on Radio 4’s Analysis programme to discuss the future of UK defence.
Latest Events

Geopolitics in the 21st Century
April 25, 2017Policy Exchange was privileged to host Robert D Kaplan, one of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about global affairs, for a discussion on geopolitics and America’s changing role in the world. His remarks will build on insights from his latest book,Earning the Rockies: How Geography Shapes America’s Role in the World – which has been called a “masterpiece” by General David Petraeus

Hon Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, speaks at Policy Exchange
April 19, 2017Policy Exchange was delighted to host Hon Paul Ryan, Speaker of the US House of Representatives — giving his only public address during his trip to London with a bipartisan Congressional delegation.

After Iraq: When to go to war?
Jan 31, 2017This lecture by Professor Nigel Biggar was delivered at Policy Exchange on 31 January 2017, with a Vote of Thanks by Lt Gen Mark Carleton-Smith CBE, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations), on behalf of the Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach GBE KCB