Politics UK

Eleventh Edition

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Chapter 2

The UK, Europe, and the world

Chapter Summary

This chapter began by exploring the history and legacy of the UK’s key international relationships, focusing on its membership of key international organisations: the UN, the EU, NATO, the OSCE and the OECD. It moved on to explore the most prominent ideas that have shaped contemporary UK foreign policy thinking. It does this by splitting the history of British foreign policy into five periods: the Empire, the post-war era, the Cold War, and the new millennium, ending with the post-Brexit, ‘pre-war’ 2020s. Organising the material in this way helps students appreciate, in a simple, accessible way, the continuities and changes which have shaped (and which will continue to shape) UK foreign policy over a long period of time. The chapter shows how UK governments, Labour and Conservative alike, have wrestled with a series of foreign policy dilemmas relating to the economy, politics and identity, leading to some creative thought about how to construct, implement and justify the UK’s role in the world.

Learning Objectives

  • To understand the nature and extent of the UK’s key international relationships.
  • To appreciate the key ideas that have shaped UK foreign policy.
  • To explain changes in UK foreign policy from the end of the Cold War onwards.

Quizzes

Test your knowledge with the Chapter 2 quizzes!

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Discussion Questions

  1. The UK’s relationship with the EU during its formation and founding has been characterised as ‘complicated’. Looking back at key points throughout history (from the 1940s to the Brexit referendum of 2016), how has the UK-EU relationship developed?
  2. When we refer to the ‘British Empire’, we could be referring to one of two periods of British imperialism. What were the core differences between the ‘First’ and ‘Second’ British empires? And what was Britian’s intentions during these two different periods of the Empire?

United Nations Official Website – Key information on UK-UN relations, Security Council decisions, and peacekeeping missions. (https://www.un.org)

World Trade Organization (WTO) – Data and reports on UK trade policy, Brexit’s impact on trade, and international economic relations. (https://www.wto.org)

The Wilson Centre – Global Europe Program – Think tank analysing European security, NATO expansion, and UK-US relations. (https://www.wilsoncenter.org/program/global-europe-program)

UK in a Changing Europe – A research group analysing the impact of Brexit on UK-EU relations, foreign policy, and trade. (https://ukandeu.ac.uk)

Centre for European Reform (CER) – Think tank focusing on UK and EU affairs, Brexit consequences, and European security. (https://www.cer.eu)

UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) – The official government department responsible for the UK’s foreign affairs, international development, and diplomacy. (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office)

The UK Parliament – Foreign Affairs Committee – Publishes reports and inquiries on UK foreign policy, global security, and Brexit’s impact. (https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/78/foreign-affairs-committee/)

Flashcards

Refresh your knowledge of key terms with this chapter’s flashcards.

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Timeline

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