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Britain
OpinionComment
Andrew Hammond
Andrew Hammond

Opinion | 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

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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
Andrew Hammond
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.
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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.
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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.

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