But how does the foreign policy record of the Labour Government stand when set against these declared principles? What role have ethics really played in Labour's foreign policy? Why has Labour been so interventionist, from Kosovo to Iraq? What does this record tell us about the limits and the possibilities of progressive foreign policy? What does it tell us about the strengths and failures of Labour's foreign policy?
This timely book, published in association with the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Centre for Global Governance at the LSE, addresses these questions and provides an appraisal of Labour's record in power. However, the book also looks forward. It provides a novel assessment of the international trends that will shape the global context of UK foreign policy. The contributors set out new perspectives and policy options in respect of international security, democracy, justice, human rights, and sustainability. In addition, the book offers fresh thinking on the UK's relationship with key countries and regions, from the US to Europe, from the Middle East to China. Moreover, it suggests a radical new approach to global governance and to the way in which the UK makes and implements foreign policy.
At a time of real flux in UK domestic politics and of rapid change in international politics, this book is an indispensable guide to the UK's foreign policy options and to the prospects and possibilities of a more values-driven and effective UK foreign policy.
* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
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“A valuable addition to the debate about the future of UK foreign policy.”
International Affairs
"Offers fresh thinking on the UK’s relationship with key countries and regions, from the US to Europe, from the Middle East to China."
Development Resources Review (OXFAM)
"Thought-provoking ... a well-written and accessible broad overview of foreign policy under Blair's premiership ... students of international relations and of politics, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, would find this worth a read."
Political Studies Review
"This century will be shaped by the choice between a world that looks outwards, embraces multilateralism and seeks to shape globalization in the interests of social justice, or a world in which isolation, protectionism and narrow nationalism hold sway. This book is an important contribution to the question of how we build a safer, fairer world."
Rt Hon. Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for the Environment
"This is an important, enlightened but measured assessment of the failings of British foreign policy that led to the debacle of Iraq. It also helps to chart a more progressive course for the future."
John Kampfner, Editor of the New Statesman
David Mepham is Associate Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Head of its International Programme.
