Global Britain in a divided world

Summary

The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, published in March 2021, set out the UK government’s objectives for ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age’ through to 2030. These are to

uphold an international order supportive of liberal democratic values;
contribute to the security of this order;
help build greater global resilience to the impacts of climate change and health insecurity and promote sustainable development;
pursue an international economic agenda that strengthens the UK’s global competitiveness and supports the welfare of its citizens.

A year later, with the Integrated Review’s warnings that Russia is the most acute threat to European security proved correct, this research paper assesses the UK’s performance against these four objectives, and identifies priorities for the government in the next two years.