Explore short, accessible pieces of analysis, research and commentary, on topical issues related to foreign policy and our changing world.
Westminster Should Care about the German Elections
The BFPG’s Director Sophia Gaston explains the stakes in the German elections for the UK through surveying the foreign policy platforms of the major parties.
Boris Johnson’s Trip to the United States: A Major Climate Success Ahead of COP26
BFPG Researcher Evie Aspinall summarises the Prime Minister’s trip to the United States and assesses what this means ahead of COP26 in November.
What Would a Successful COP26 Look Like for the UK?
Our Evie Aspinall reflects on the UK’s ambitions for COP26 and what the UK can expect to achieve at the summit.
The Foreign Secretary’s Evidence on Afghanistan: Five Key Insights
The BFPG provides five key insights from the Foreign Affairs Select Committee emergency session on Afghanistan with Dominic Raab.
The Olympics: A Stage For the World’s Biggest Geopolitical Debates
Our Evie Aspinall discusses the geopolitics of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and what to expect as we head towards the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The Mediterranean – a Wildfire Hotspot and a Geopolitical Playground
Eleni Koumoundouros explores how responses to the wildfires in Greece and Turkey differed and why the EU needs its own firefighting capabilities.
The Rise of Vaccine Diplomacy
Our Evie Aspinall explores the rise of vaccine diplomacy and the potential geopolitical ramifications in the race to vaccinate the world against Covid-19.
France and the UK – Common Interests and Shared Ambiguity Towards the Indo-Pacific
Following the publication of the Integrated Review, the British Foreign Policy Group and the Institut Montaigne organised an expert roundtable to explore France and the UK’s evolving strategic interests and policies toward the Indo-Pacific. This blog explores the key insights from the event.
What the 2030 Roadmap for Future Relations Tells Us about UK-India Relations
Eleni Koumoundouros explores the UK-India 2030 roadmap and what it means for the future of relations between the two countries.
Looking Towards the G7: The Youth 7 Summit
Evie Aspinall, BFPG Researcher and Head UK Delegate to the Youth 7, discusses the Youth 7 summit and what it tells us in the run up to the G7.
Where to Next as the UK Government and the Aid Sector Face Off?
The BFPG’s Director Sophia Gaston on the strained relations between the UK Government and the aid sector after the decision to reduce our ODA budget from 0.7% of GNI.
Leaders’ Summit on Climate – An Important Step on the Road to COP26
Our Evie Aspinall explores the leaders’ summit on climate and what it means for the UK and the world in the lead up to COP26.
The Roots of the Allied Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan Start at Home
The BFPG’s Director, Sophia Gaston, explains the social forces compelling American and British policy-makers to exercise caution towards military interventionism.
What will the British people make of the Integrated Review of UK Foreign Policy?
This article sets out where British public opinion currently stands on many of the central aspects of the vision set out in the Integrated Review.
The Integrated Review of UK Foreign Policy: 10 Key Insights
The BFPG’s Director, Sophia Gaston, sets out 10 key insights from the HMG Integrated Review of the UK’s Defence, Security, Development and Foreign Policy.
Global Britain and Levelling Up are Natural Bedfellows
Levelling Up and Global Britain were born from the same seismic event and, after a period of false competition, are naturally coming back together as the natural bedfellows they are.
The Role of Gender in Foreign Policy Attitudes
The role of gender in shaping foreign policy preferences continues to be an underresearched and poorly understood issue.
Five Things We Know: Public Opinion on Foreign Aid
Public opinion on foreign aid continues to be a hugely sensitive, and poorly understood, issue.
The UK Foreign Secretary’s Evidence to the International Development Committee: 10 Things We Learned
The UK’s evolving strategy towards China since 2014 must be examined in the context of its shifting political realities.
What HMG’s evolving China position reveals about shifting UK political realities
The UK’s evolving strategy towards China since 2014 must be examined in the context of its shifting political realities.
Moving On: The UK and the EU Must Look to the Future
The BFPG’s Director Sophia Gaston argues that the UK and the EU need to move on from the fractious nature of the Brexit negotiations and find a productive new relationship to tackle shared challenges.
Muddy Waters – What’s Behind the Evolving Tensions between France, the EU, the UK and Turkey?
Tensions between the EU and Turkey are rising and the EU is divided on how to respond. The BFPG explores what’s happening and the context behind the UK’s response.
Where next for US action on Climate Change?
During his election campaign, President-elect Joe Biden declared climate change an “existential threat to humanity” but in practice, what will America’s climate policy look like under Biden? Our Evie Aspinall explores.
New FCDO Permanent Under-Secretary gives evidence on the UK’s foreign policy priorities
On 10 November 2010, Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE, Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Head of the Diplomatic Service, gave his first evidence session to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee (FASC). He was joined by Juliet Chua, Director General,…
What Joe Biden’s victory means for the UK & Global Britain
1. Biden’s ‘transatlantic project’ is not about the special relationship, but the UK will be a part of it. Biden’s administration has made clear that restoring the US-EU relationship, and relations between Washington and key EU nations, such as France and Germany, will be one…