• Home |
• About us |
• Research |
• Events |
• Publications |
• Membership |
• Library |
• Media |

Blair's Foreign Policy and its Possible Successor(s)

Briefing Paper
Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas, December 2006

Download Paper here

Foreign policy has been a defining feature of the Labour government under Tony Blair. Major initiatives, including the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, happened under Blair's watch, and military campaigns were undertaken in Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. However, it is Blair's response to the post-9/11 'global war on terror' and the invasion of Iraq that marks a watershed in British foreign policy. As Tony Blair approaches the tenth anniversary of his election victory, and his final year in power, this paper assesses the impact of these, and other, events and concludes that a more nuanced relationship with the United States will be a requirement for Blair's successor.

• Although Tony Blair did not express much interest in foreign policy before becoming prime minister, in Labour's first term it must be judged a qualified success. A key feature was Blair's ability to demonstrate Britain's European credentials while forging a close working relationship with President Clinton.
• The post-9/11 decision to invade Iraq was a terrible mistake and the current débâcle will have policy repercussions for many years to come. The root failure of Tony Blair's foreign policy has been its inability to influence the Bush administration in any significant way despite the sacrifice - military, political and financial - that the United Kingdom has made.
• Tony Blair's successor(s) will not be able to offer unconditional support for US initiatives in foreign policy and a rebalancing of the UK's foreign policy between the US and Europe will have to take place.