UK Politics: Forged In The Crucible Of Austerity

One year into office, foreign policy is unexpectedly proving a defining theme of Britain’s coalition government. Faced with economic austerity at home and geopolitical uncertainty abroad, the challenge has been to match ambitions to changing realities. Add to this the wave of popular dissent across the Arab world and military intervention in Libya, and it is not hard to see why international affairs have risen to the top of the government’s agenda. All of this presents the ideal opportunity, twelve months in, to assess the emerging contours of the coalition’s approach.