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foreign affairs in strategic context
Browsing All Posts filed under »declinism«
Great Britain, license to kill: The geopolitics of James Bond
What role should a post-imperial Britain play in the world? This question has dogged us since at least 1962, when the former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson made his infamous remark. Arguably, though, the new Bond film has an answer: Our role is to kill bad guys competently and with style. Throughout Skyfall, it […]
The Europhile (Un)imagination
December 29, 2011
I have to say, it has been fun watching British Europhiles have a collective nervous breakdown. Europhiles like to think of themselves as the embodiment of Enlightenment values, whereas their opponents are irrational, unintelligent, hysterical loons. Since David Cameron’s veto, however, you cannot open The Guardian or turn on BBC News without being blown across […]
Afghanistan, David Cameron and British grand strategy
May 17, 2011
Yesterday, the Daily Telegraph reported that David Cameron has told the military to draw up plans for an early exit from Afghanistan. American commanders are alarmed by this and they are putting pressure on their British counterparts, as it might hasten an early US withdrawal. The story also ties into concerns the United States supposedly […]
Afghanistan, the Conservatives and the Special Relationship
January 26, 2011
Why does David Cameron support the war in Afghanistan? I have touched on this here and here, but one reason not yet addressed is the importance of the United States. Though not crucial to them, the Special Relationship is vital for us; and Hew Strachan believes this is the reason for our involvement in the […]
Go for growth! A narrative for British grand strategy
December 17, 2010
If work is getting you down, and you feel frustrated intellectually, then the answer is Hew Strachan. My afternoon yesterday was spent reading his 2009 essay ‘The Strategic Gap in British Defence Policy’, which puts succinctly many of the problems I’ve been struggling with for months. As well as the internationalisation of national security and […]
Time for the Blogification of Academic Giants, or T-BAG
November 26, 2010
Adam Elkus and I were talking about punditry last night, lamenting a world where Fellowships with the Council of Foreign Relations are handed out liberally to any tool who can sound plausible on world affairs. I put forward an idea I’ve had for a while now, coaxing out (still) living giants like Paul Kennedy and […]
Ambivalent? Yeah, maybe.
November 5, 2010
Kenneth Payne has interesting pieces at Current Intelligence and on the BBC about the supposed ambivalence towards war felt in this country. Not to be facetious, but I’m ambivalent about them. It is true the British public are uninformed and uninvolved with Afghanistan, and that they are uninterested in defence policy generally. But I don’t […]
Max Boot: My Take
October 23, 2010
Personally, I’m ambivalent about Max Boot. Sometimes, he hits upon an original observation; his writing can also be cliché. It didn’t take me long to figure out his latest piece was the latter. He says the defence cuts announced by the government this week mean Britain is ‘out’ of the power game. The tale of […]
November 30, 2012
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