Finding Britain’s Role in a Changing World: Building a values-based foreign policy

Overview

The United Kingdom is preparing for its post-Brexit place in the world at a time when the principles of liberal democracy and the rules-based world order are being challenged. In a fast-changing world with new powers rising, old institutions struggling and future challenges emerging, a strong values-based foreign policy is essential. 

This calls for bold, collaborative action to advance the values of democracy, human rights, free and fair trade and the international rule of law, while also tackling the entrenched unequal power relations in the current international order, including the UK’s own privileged position. 

Edited by Oxfam and the Foreign Policy Centre, this collection brings together proposals for how the UK can put values at the heart of its foreign policy in the decades to come. Written by policy makers, academics and NGO leaders, the essays cover themes including aid, inequality, security, climate change, feminist foreign policy, trade, multilateral institutions and the well-being of future generations. The authors argue for a vision of ‘Global Britain’ that is defined by commitments to human rights, inclusive representation at home and abroad, and making a substantial impact on poverty and inequality.