{"id":19127,"date":"2019-04-23T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T09:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/?p=19127"},"modified":"2019-07-30T15:59:28","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T15:59:28","slug":"kings-college-london-event-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/2019\/04\/kings-college-london-event-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"King’s College London Event Summary: the UK’s Foreign Policy After Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]As the Brexit negotiations trundle on, it is sometimes difficult to look past our relationship with the EU to the wider world. On 28th<\/sup>\u00a0March, the BFPG student ambassadors from King\u2019s College London organised a panel discussion on the future of British Foreign Policy post-Brexit. The event was co-hosted with the student-led organisation King\u2019s Think Tank. A panel of four speakers discussed the UK\u2019s foreign policy strengths and tried as far as possible not to mention the \u2018B\u2019 word.<\/p>\n

The panel included:<\/p>\n

James Rogers, Director of Global Britain Programme at Henry Jackson Society<\/p>\n

Andrew Woodcock, 25 years experience in the UK Diplomatic Service<\/p>\n

Theo Clarke, CEO Global Coalition for Prosperity<\/p>\n

Gavin McNicholl, founder and Director of Eden Intelligence<\/p>\n

The event was chaired by a BFPG student ambassador, Marie-Gabrielle Williams and held under the Chatham House rule.<\/p>\n

The speakers were invited to give a short presentation giving their perspectives on the state of UK foreign policy, as well as recommendations for what direction it should take. The audience, consisting predominantly of students, was then invited to ask questions. The panellists had contrasting visions of both the state of current UK international standing, as well as the route the UK should follow in the future.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n

Geopolitics<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first speaker offered a historical perspective on the UK\u2019s relationship with the EU, putting it in context alongside the UK\u2019s commitment to the Atlantic Order. Referring to the return of great power competition, the speaker suggested that the UK\u2019s withdrawal from the EU may not substantially affect Britain\u2019s strategic interests. The centre of world politics is moving back to the Indo-Pacific region with the emergence of an ambitious Chinese foreign policy. The speaker argued that the EU has been remarkably ineffective in following this trend and has failed to act as a foreign policy force multiplier, in allowing Russia, a recently weak country, to become strong again. The speaker\u2019s key argument was that, in line with increasing global instability and the UK\u2019s existing capabilities, the UK needs to take the initiative on European defence. This could take the form of a highly exclusive grouping of European nations, all spending at least 2 per cent on defence, which would send a clear message to the US that the Atlantic order remains intact. The speaker ended by emphasising that the UK needed to buck the trend of merely reacting to international events, and by reversing the cuts to the UK\u2019s diplomatic arsenal, British foreign policy might get back on track.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Multilateralism<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second speaker stressed that the UK should not step away from its influential position in the multilateral sphere. Emphasising the wave of global challenges the world faces, from mass migration to climate change, the speaker argued the UK could only help find solutions through international collaboration. The speaker emphasised that Brexit had sucked the political oxygen out of issues beyond Brexit in Westminster, and while UK foreign policy stifles, other nations benefit. The speaker spoke of the UK\u2019s ability to shine a light on international issues through organising conventions, such as the 2018 Illegal Wildlife Conference, and stressed that the UK should continue this post Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Economic Outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>The third speaker approached the UK\u2019s economic future, arguing that Brexit wasn\u2019t quite the nail in the coffin that some have suggested. Outlining the UK\u2019s economic strengths and its importance as a global centre for investment, the speaker spoke of the \u2018pent up\u2019 investment in the UK\u2019s real estate market waiting to be untapped once the Brexit outcome becomes clear. The speaker also emphasised the strengths of the City of London and the fact that investors would continue to prize the UK\u2019s predictable strength, regulatory environment and legal surety. Speaking of the UK Security Service\u2019s announcement that the risk posed by Huawei\u2019s 5G networks could be managed, the speaker suggested that the relationship between the UK and China was closer than many realised and was set to grow closer in the coming years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column el_class=”bfpgview”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the BFPG. The BFPG is an independent not for profit organisation that encourages constructive, informed and considered opinions without taking an institutional position on any issue.<\/span><\/h6>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the Brexit negotiations trundle on, it is sometimes difficult to look past our relationship with the EU to the wider world. On 28th\u00a0March, the BFPG student ambassadors from King\u2019s College London organised a panel discussion on the future of British Foreign Policy post-Brexit. The event was co-hosted with the student-led organisation King\u2019s Think Tank. A panel of four speakers discussed the UK\u2019s foreign policy strengths and tried as far as possible not to mention the \u2018B\u2019 word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":19128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-past-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}