Foreign Policy of the United Kingdom 2100-ERASMUS-FPUK
1. Introduction to UK Foreign Policy
Introduction to the course
Basic concepts and approaches in foreign policy analysis
External and internal determinants of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy
2. The Collapse of the British Empire and the Creation of the Commonwealth
The British Empire at the end of World War II
National liberation movements in British colonies
Transition from the British Empire to the Commonwealth
Legal foundations of the Commonwealth
Evolution of the organisation’s competences, importance, and role in UK foreign policy
3. The United Kingdom at the United Nations and NATO
The UK as an original signatory of the Atlantic Charter and a founding member of the United Nations
The UK as a permanent member of the UN Security Council
The United Kingdom’s role in NATO
The concept of the Atlantic Triangle
4. The United Kingdom and European Integration
British concepts of European integration after World Wars I and II
Reasons for the United Kingdom’s initial non-participation in the EEC and ECSC
Relations between the UK and the European Communities
The United Kingdom in the European Union: key issues
5. The UK’s Special Relationship with the United States
Historical roots of the special relationship
Bilateral cooperation
Cooperation within multilateral frameworks
6. The UK’s Relations with Former Dominions: Australia, New Zealand, and Canada
UK–Australia relations: key issues
UK–New Zealand relations: key issues
UK–Canada relations: key issues
7. The UK in the War on Terror: Afghanistan and Iraq
Domestic conditions shaping the UK’s involvement in counter-terrorism
British involvement in the Gulf Wars
Controversies surrounding the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The UK’s involvement in Afghanistan after 2001
8. Brexit: Origins, Process, and Consequences for UK Foreign Policy
Domestic and international determinants of Brexit
The process of leaving the European Union
Development of the post-Brexit Global Britain strategy
9. Global Britain in Practice: UK Engagement in the Indo-Pacific
Determinants of the UK’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific
Political and diplomatic activity
Economic engagement
Military and security involvement
10. Soft Power in UK Foreign Policy
The United Kingdom’s soft power resources
British public diplomacy
The monarch in UK foreign policy
Evolution of the monarch’s role and the involvement of other members of the Royal Family
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Students:
a) know and understand the basic facts and processes of the UK’s foreign policy,
b) see cause-and-effect relationships in the evolution of this policy,
c) formulate their own assessment using logical arguments in discussions about the UK’s foreign policy.
Assessment criteria
Class Participation: 20%
Attendance: 10 %
Final Essay: 70%
Bibliography
Official Documents and Speeches:
* Commonwealth Charter. 2012. Available online: https://thecommonwealth.org/charter
* Statute of Westminster. 1931. Available online: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1931/4/pdfs/ukpga_19310004_en.pdf
* UK Government. Global Britain in a Competitive Age: The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. 2021. Available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy
* UK Soft Power Group. The Future of UK Soft Power: Building a Strategic Framework. 2023. Available online: https://www.ed.ac.uk/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_future_of_uk_soft_power_-_building_a_strategic_framework.pdf
* Disraeli, Benjamin. “The Maintenance of Empire.” 1872. Available online: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Maintenance_of_Empire
* Johnson, Boris. COP26 Climate Summit Glasgow Speech. 2021. Available online: https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/boris-johnson-cop26-climate-summit-glasgow-speech-transcript
* Macmillan, Harold. “The Wind of Change Speech.” 3 February 1960. Available online: https://web-archives.univ-pau.fr/english/TD2doc1.pdf
Academic Literature:
* Blair, Alasdair. *Britain and the World since 1945*. Routledge, 2015.
* Daddow, Oliver, and Jamie Gaskarth, eds. *British Foreign Policy: The New Labour Years*. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
* Edmunds, Timothy, Jamie Gaskarth, and Robin Porter, eds. *British Foreign Policy and the National Interest: Identity, Strategy and Security*. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
* Gaskarth, Jamie. “Strategizing Britain’s Role in the World.” *International Affairs* 90(3), 2014, pp. 559–581.
* Gaskarth, Jamie, and Nicola Langdon. “The Dilemma of Brexit: Hard Choices in the Narrow Context of British Foreign Policy Traditions.” *British Politics* 16, 2021, pp. 170–186.
* Hadfield, Amelia, and Richard G. Whitman. “The Diplomacy of ‘Global Britain’: Settling, Safeguarding and Seeking Status.” *International Politics*, 2023.
* McCourt, David M. *Britain and World Power since 1945: Constructing a Nation’s Role in International Politics*. University of Michigan Press, 2014.
* Reynolds, David. *Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the Twentieth Century*. 2nd ed. Longman, 2000.
* Sanders, David, and David Patrick Houghton. *Losing an Empire, Finding a Role: British Foreign Policy Since 1945*. 2nd ed. Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
* Whitman, Richard G. “The UK’s European Diplomatic Strategy for Brexit and Beyond.” *International Affairs* 95(2), 2019, pp. 383–404.