Foreign Policy & Security
Latest Foreign Policy & Security Publications
The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Price of Inaction in the Face of Mass Atrocities
This report is based on work begun by Jo Cox MP (1974-2016) and Tom Tugendhat MP. It was completed by Alison McGovern MP and Tom Tugendhat MP
“There are few more complex questions than when to intervene overseas. Jo Cox was an inspirational humanitarian who cared deeply about preventing violence and protecting people around the world. It is a fitting part of Jo’s legacy that this paper will challenge politicians of all parties to consider how we can put such considerations at the heart of the decisions we take.” (Rt Hon Theresa May MP, Prime Minister.
After Iraq: When to go to war?
This lecture by Professor Nigel Biggar was delivered at Policy Exchange on 31 January 2017. The lecture reflects on some of the moral lessons we should and should not learn from the recent history of British military interventions abroad, in view of the challenges and dilemmas Britain is likely continue to face in the future. After Iraq, it asks, what are the circumstances in which Britain should go to war?
Making Sense of British Foreign Policy After Brexit
Making Sense of British Foreign Policy After Brexit argues that the UK should use Brexit as an opportunity to adopt a more proactive global foreign policy, enhance its defence profile, and re-imagine relations with key allies.
Latest Foreign Policy & Security Blogs
Democracy and Brexit
Reflecting on the Foreign Secretary’s speech at Policy Exchange last week, Director of Research and Strategy Rupert Oldham-Reid summarises the speech.
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’.
The new US National Security Strategy: implications for UK National Security Policy
Reviewing Lt Gen McMaster’s keynote speech at Policy Exchange’s Anglo-American conference, Professor John Bew highlights how the new American National Security Strategy will refocus on ‘competitive engagement’, providing support for friendly countries on America’s security frontier while requesting greater ‘reciprocity’ from US allies. Professor Bew also suggests how this should be interpreted by the UK’s ongoing Capability Review.
Latest Foreign Policy & Security News
Niall Ferguson compares balance of power to Congress of Vienna at Policy Exchange’s Anglo-American conference
Professor Niall Ferguson, who spoke at the launch of Policy Exchange’s new Anglo-American project, argued that the best historical analogy for the current balance of powers is with the pentarchy of five great powers that dominated European (and hence world) affairs for a century after the Congress of Vienna of 1814-15. A modern pentarchy was created in the form of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Professor Ferguson argues that “Whether or not these five great powers can make common cause once again is the great geopolitical question of our time.”
Warning on undersea cables attracts widespread media coverage
The new Policy Exchange report warning that undersea communications cables are vital to our economy but vulnerable to attached attracted widespread national and regional media coverage, including its author, Rishi Sunak MP, appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme and writing for the Telegraph.
Western policy in Middle East fudges dangers of Islamism, says former UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In the struggle against Islamist extremism, history matters. It is often under-appreciated how far the groups across the Islamist spectrum, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Daesh, are powered by a simplistic, yet powerful, historical narrative. In the inaugural Elie and Sylvia Kedourie Lecture, “The Importance of History: The Chatham House Version Revisited”, Sir John Jenkins – former UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, co-author of the UK Government’s review of British policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and a Policy Exchange Senior Fellow – critiques the tendency towards shallow, one-dimensional thinking about the Middle East that infects much Western commentary and analysis on the region.
Latest Foreign Policy & Security Events
US foreign policy under the new President
Nov 10, 2016Held at Policy Exchange on 10 November, this event featured Walter Russell Mead and Sir Nigel Sheinwald GCMG
East or West: where does the future of UK Foreign Policy lie?
Sep 14, 2016Policy Exchange’s Britain in the World Project examines the UK’s relationship with Asia and the opportunities and challenges post-Brexit. With Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs columnist of the Financial Times and Con Coughlin, Defence Editor of the Daily Telegraph
Understanding Salafi-Jihadism and the Current Terrorist Threat to Europe
Sept 6, 2016This event was held at Policy Exchange on Tuesday 6th September 2016 and featured Shiraz Maher, leading expert on Islamist extremism and Tom Holland, acclaimed historian and author. With an introduction by Lord Evans of Weardale KCB, former Director General of MI5
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