UK’s global role

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has won an extraordinary victory, ending fourteen years of Conservative government. What does this mean for the UK’s global role?

Whoever wins the UK general election will face significant challenges in foreign affairs. How will they feature in the campaign?

After this year’s general election, the UK will have to make tough decisions in its foreign policy, especially towards China, the United States and Europe.

Episode 42 of our weekly podcast discusses Rory Stewart’s latest book and its criticisms of the British state.

Tobias Ellwood, Chair of the House of Commons’s Defence Committee, discusses how climate change impacts security today, and what challenges it will present in the future.

Episode 32 of our weekly podcast was recorded live at our conference, held on 29 June 2023.

Episode 31 of our weekly podcast explores the UK’s role in the defence of the Nordic region.

Episode 20 of our weekly podcast marks 20 years since the invasion of Iraq, with special guest Clare Short who resigned from the UK government over the issue.

Episode 19 of our weekly podcast examines the AUKUS deal, UK defence priorities, and the state of Georgia’s democracy following anti-government protests.

Episode 17 of our weekly podcast examines the outcome of Nigeria’s presidential election and the new deal for Northern Ireland negotiated by the UK and EU.

Episode 14 of our weekly podcast examines the Chinese balloon saga, the State of the Union address, and updates on the AUKUS deal 18 months after it was signed.

How have women contributed to international relations?

Episode nine discusses the UK’s foreign policy ‘tilt’ to the Indo-Pacific and whether its desire to be a strategic player in the region is sustainable.

This episode discusses the current state of the Commonwealth and the relevance of language-based intergovernmental organizations to African states seeking to diversify their international relations.

How did leading academics and policymakers think about and impact imperialism and decolonization from the 1920s to 1970s?

The second episode of our new podcast examines the changes in the UK government as Rishi Sunak become prime minister and looks ahead to COP27 with John Kerry.

How are the United Kingdom’s foreign policy ambitions holding up in a changing world?

How has the Chatham House journal traced the transformation of Britain’s role in the world since the 1920s?

Does the launch of the UK government’s latest security and foreign policy strategy signal a fundamental shift?

Interviews explore contemporary debates about decolonization in the fields of global health and development, and trace Britain’s pursuit of an international role.

Undercurrents returns for its first episode of 2021 with an extended interview on the future of UK foreign policy.

Undercurrents returns with two new interviews this week; on life as a Chinese millennial, and how targeted attacks on infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza affect the lives of civilians.

Agnes and Ben discuss the state of US relations with Europe with Anthony Gardner (former US Ambassador to the EU), and new strategies to tackle the illegal wildlife trade with Christopher Vandome from the Chatham House Africa Programme.

Ben and Alastair Campbell discuss the art of political leadership, while Agnes speaks with Alistair Darling to mark 10 years since the 2008 financial crisis.

Ben discusses the state of the Brexit negotiations with Georgina Wright, while Agnes meets Oliver Bullough to discuss how the global financial system allows wealthy individuals to escape the confines of their domestic tax systems and hide their money in foreign havens.

The UK decision was welcomed by India and the US, and shows a capacity for fresh thinking. But the transfer of sovereignty must be handled carefully.

A series of international affairs events are being held at the UK Labour and Conservative Party conferences this autumn.

The UK’s once serious claims to climate leadership have been severely damaged in recent years. Rebuilding its standing will be a challenge, at home and abroad.

A shrinking army risks the UK’s ability to fulfil its roles within the alliance. Boosting spending on recruitment, retention and upgrading capabilities is essential to maintaining a leadership role.

Keir Starmer and his foreign secretary will face difficult, early decisions on foreign policy. The test will be whether those rebuild the UK’s influence, reputation and interests.

Although the next UK government will have to make many trade-offs, boosting ties with both the Indo-Pacific and Europe would be mutually reinforcing.

Procurement, security cooperation and international development policy require urgent attention.

Whoever wins the UK’s general election, an incoming government needs better terms and conditions for its dealings with Beijing.

Regardless of whether the next US administration is led by Biden or Trump, two key foreign policy asks will be made of the next UK government.

The UK needs to narrow its policy goals to concentrate its resources on stabilizing the region’s unresolved conflicts.

The next UK government will immediately be thrust onto the world stage with NATO and European summits in July. The campaign is a distraction but there are urgent questions to answer on foreign affairs, including Gaza.

Raising productivity growth is the only way the UK will be able to meet its domestic and international objectives over the long term.

For the UK, backing the use of emerging technology for development goals should extend to support of local leadership and stewardship.

The prime minister’s choice of timing for a general election thrusts foreign policy to the fore and will expose the parties’ differences on migration, Europe and Gaza.

Labour and the Conservatives each place unusual emphasis on foreign policy in this election year. A new Chatham House paper advises what the next government must prioritize.

Backing down in the face of Russian threats is the worst option. The UK should join France in using strategic ambiguity.

The government will need to be clearer on how the spending increase will be funded and where the UK will direct its focus.

As NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary, the UK must overcome its capability gaps to boost the alliance’s deterrence power and account for threats like China.

The UK’s new strategy highlights how clarity of purpose, careful calibration and flexibility can help ensure sanctions regimes are effective.

Having a foreign secretary with status that is largely free of domestic political concerns matters, but a lack of strategy matters more.

But without US leadership, the ability of Ukraine’s European allies to cooperate effectively looks uncertain.

Watch the keynote address at our Energy Transitions Conference 2024 by Claire Coutinho, Secretary of State, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

Watch the keynote address from our 2024 Global Trade conference by The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade.

As it searches for an appropriate global role after Brexit, the UK has the potential to become the centre of gravity for subsea technology.

Watch the keynote address from our security and defence conference, delivered by the UK Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.

Failed tests may help the UK improve the reliability of its independent nuclear deterrent. But such events raise concerns about a lack of investment in non-nuclear defences.

The potential nuclear threats posed by Russia and China are complicated by the possibility of a second Trump presidency.

The pledge was an important signal to international partners about future energy policy. Dropping it increases doubts about the credibility of UK plans should Labour win the election later this year.

America and Europe must respect the growing status of individual states, invest in long-term relationships and consider Security Council reform, writes Catherine Ashton.

Instead of acknowledging double standards, the West must re-embrace globalization if it wants to win friends in the Global South, writes Daniel Drezner.