Ambitious reforms of the Foreign Office and wider government machinery are needed to safeguard future UK prosperity and security, concludes a new report commissioned by UCL and Oxford University.
As the country heads towards a crucial general election, 'The World in 2040: Renewing the UK's Approach to International Affairs' from UCL Policy Lab and Hertford College, Oxford, sees leading figures from British diplomacy and international development, including the former Cabinet Secretary Lord Mark Sedwill, call for a renewed vision of UK foreign affairs.
Following a series of in-depth roundtable discussions, led by UCL Honorary Professor and former Director General at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Moazzam Malik, the report sets out a series of measures to renew and reform the UK foreign affairs function.
Those measures include:
- Creating a Department for International Affairs or Global Affairs UK to help embed a clear long-term mission in the mandates guiding UK international institutions.
- Over the medium term, allocate 1% GNI for international engagement to complement the commitment to 2% GDP defence spending.
- Focus on multilateralism. Working with other middle powers such as Japan, Canada, and those in the EU to help shape issues.
- Modernise the diplomatic service by making it more porous and open to specialists from across the civil service and outside.
- Create mechanisms for wider engagement with civil society, business, and devolved administrations on foreign affairs.
Ahead of the launch, Moazzam Malik spoke of the challenges with which the project had grappled:
"The UK's place in the world is changing dramatically as we live through rapid geopolitical turbulence and adjust to life outside the European Union. But our future prosperity and security as an open country in an interconnected world remains closely tied to global challenges and international collaboration."
The project's ambition is to help set out a positive vision for the UK in the future. Moazzam Malik added: "We need ambitious reform of the Foreign Office and HMG's machinery for international affairs to safeguard that future. This pamphlet looks to kickstart an urgent debate on the shape of that reform agenda."
The report was based on testimony and evidence from leading scholars and experts, including Associate Professor, Dr Tom Pegram, of UCL Political Science. He spoke of the way in which UCL was helping shape key debates at a critical time for UK foreign policy:
"The World in 2040: Renewing the UK's Approach to International Affairs report underscores a pivotal moment for the UK to leverage its global standing to shape and secure a sustainable future. I was delighted to be able to support this collaboration, reflecting our commitment at UCL to bridging academia and impactful policy engagement."
The report was a collaboration with Hertford College, Oxford. Co-convener and Principal of Hertford College, Tom Fletcher, previously a foreign policy advisor to three Prime Ministers, spoke of his ambition that the report would kick start a conversation about the reform of UK foreign affairs.
"The UK's place in the world is changing dramatically as we live through rapid geopolitical turbulence and adjust to life outside the European Union. But our future prosperity and security as an open country in an interconnected world remains closely tied to global challenges and international collaboration.
"We need ambitious reform of the Foreign Office and HMG's machinery for international affairs to safeguard that future. This pamphlet looks to kickstart an urgent debate on the shape of that reform agenda."
The project team included former diplomats and thinkers on international development such as Roli Asthana who worked at DFID for over 14 years covering multiple countries and regions.
She said: "As an economist born in a developing country who has spent a working lifetime in practising, teaching and researching international development in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, I have experienced the big global trends - positive and negative. The link between politics and economics, development and diplomacy & security and prosperity is stronger than ever. How we plan now to respond in the long term is critical for our future, and that of our children."
The UCL Policy Lab's Director, Marc Stears, welcomed the collaboration across disciplines and backgrounds that had generated the report, saying: "New thinking in vital areas of public policy requires us to pool knowledge from different fields and experiences. This report is further evidence of how the creative new ideas our country needs can be generated by this kind of exchange."
