How Great is Britain? Power, Responsibility and Britain's Future Global Role

Abstract

Hedley Bull argued that for a state to be classed as a great power it must be in the first rank in terms of military strength but also recognised by others to have, and conceived by its own leaders and peoples to have, certain special rights and duties. Adopting this approach, this article argues that Britain's great power credentials are far stronger than commonly appreciated and that, while the term is no longer in vogue, within government the idea that Britain is a great power remains an influential factor in determining British foreign and defence policy.

The Cameron Government and Gx Leadership

“…Cameron's desire that 'we strive to act with moral authority' appears to make sense in this context and his actions have been cast by some (Morris 2011) as falling within the international relations English School's definition of 'great power' status.…”

“…However, its emerging foreign policy has either been overlooked or doubts have been expressed over its coherence with one commentator dubbing it 'kick and run diplomacy' (cited in Vickers 2011: 216). Initial attempts in the academic literature to take stock of the direction in which the coalition government is headed and establish whether UK foreign policy is changing appear to reach similar conclusions (Beech 2011;Morris 2011;Vickers 2011).…”

Preserving ‘Great Power Status’: The Complex Case of the British Intervention in the Falklands (1982)

“…The first special duty was to maintain the balance of power and to defend states' right to have an independent existence (Nolan 2006: 74). This first task has been gradually extended to the preservation of the actual order: that is to say preventing physical aggression (Morris 2011) but also preventing (and punishing) aggression in contravention of international law (Jackson 2000: 202). In exchange for responsibilities at the global stage and status, great powers must prove their commitment to fulfil these expectations, even if it is costly (Bukovansky et al 2012;Nolan 2006).…”

Soft power and corporate imperialism: maintaining British influence

“…2 It is still capable of exercising 'hard power' and is currently deployed in over eighty countries around the globe. But it also exercises what Joseph Nye famously referred to as 'soft power'.…”