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The UK and EU foreign and security policy: an optional extra Professor Richard G. Whitman 1
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Overview UK’s foreign, security and defence policy: continuity and change Competing visions of Britain’s place in the world Implementation: networks and resources The UK and the CFSP The UK and the CSDP The balance sheet 2
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UK foreign policy: Continuity and change Sources of continuity and change Change: Structural causes Post-imperial Post-cold war Continuity: institutional order The Scylla & Charybdis Europe ‘Special relationship’ 3
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Imperial legacy: British Overseas Territories 4
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Competing visions of Britain’s post-war place in the world Churchill’s notion of three concentric circles: A community of Europe The Empire and Commonwealth Anglo-American partnership The indispensable partner UK as Middle Power Europe-first 5
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Implementation: Memberships and networks Multilateral UN Security Council G8 Regional NATO EU Anglophone Commonwealth British Council 6
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Implementation: resources 5 th highest spender on defence (SIPRI, 2014) 2 nd largest donor of ODA $19.4 billion (OCED,2014) Significant diplomatic infrastructure 160+ embassies & missions (HoC, 2015) 7
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Implementation: contemporary military deployments The move to expeditionary warfare Retaining a nuclear deterrent Expanding a naval capability Major overseas deployments curtailed Iraq Afghanistan Minor overseas deployments Germany Brunei Cyprus BOTs 8
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Implementation: The Political Economy of UK foreign and security policy Relative decline in the IPE City of London £ Defence industry base 9
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Guiding strategy A Strong Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The National Security Strategy - NSS (2010, annual reports) Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review – SDSR (2010, 5 yearly) Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR)
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Prime Minister and Advisors MOD, FCO, NSC, Intelligence services Parliament, Parties Media, Interest Groups, Public Opinion The concentric circles of power in British foreign policy making Adapted from M.Weber & M.Smith et.al Foreign Policy in A Transformed World, Prentice Hall, 2002. p.40 11
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UK and the development of the CFSP Comfortable with European Political Cooperation (EPC) from accession CFSP as venue not a replacement for national foreign and security policy Shifting Governmental preferences but within limited spectrum Supporter of ‘capability-driven’ reforms 12
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CFSP: Summarising the British position Balance of Competences review (2013): positive assessment Evidence of uploading Downloading and cross loading less prevalent Having Ashton as High Rep had no discernable impact on the UK elite view of CFSP 13
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UK and the development of the CSDP St. Malo agreement as high point of engagement CSDP missions – contributor not a leader Preference for NATO-focused commitments Supporter of ‘capability-driven’ reforms such as Battlegroups 14
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UK involvement in CSDP military missions: in the top 10 15
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UK involvement in CSDP missions 16
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Areas of scepticism Voting on CFSP EEAS expansionism European Defence Agency EU Permanent Military Operational HQ Permanent structured cooperation Coalitions of the able and willing member states 17
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The UK CFSP/CSDP balance sheet UK has retains a substantial infrastructure to pursue national foreign, security and defence policy CFSP and CSDP have been an optional extra for UK foreign, security and defence policy Participation in CFSP: active but not leading Participation in CSDP: engaged but not in the vanguard ‘Shadow of the future’: Brexit 18
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