Britain | What place in the world?

Britain takes a fresh look at its foreign policy

A new review sets out an ambitious if gloomy vision

PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 07: HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier departs from Portsmouth Port, on September 07, 2022 in Portsmouth, England. HMS Queen Elizabeth is replacing its sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales, in landmark aviation trials in US waters with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the US Marine Corps. HMS Prince of Wales developed mechanical failings on a propeller and will be taken to a dry dock in Scotland for repairs. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images) (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Image: Getty Images

IN MARCH 2021 the British government published a sweeping review of foreign, defence, development and security policies dubbed the “Integrated Review”. The world was becoming more competitive and fragmented, it warned. Just how much so it could not have guessed. That summer Kabul fell to the Taliban. A few months later Russia invaded Ukraine. Sino-American relations appear to be in free fall. On March 13th the government accordingly gave the review an update.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “What place in the world? ”

From the March 18th 2023 edition

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