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foreign affairs in strategic context
Browsing All Posts filed under »William Hague«
Britain needs William Hague
William Hague will not be a great Foreign Secretary, but the guy who creates the circumstances for someone else to be a great Foreign Secretary. If Britain is to have a truly strategic foreign policy in the early 21st Century, it is crucial that he stays in his job, not randomly replaced by someone far […]
Ellis of Benghazi!
August 16, 2011
This letter, which has been classified for fifty years, sheds a fascinating light on British foreign policy in the early 21st Century and the career of Lord Litherland (more popularly known as “Ellis of Benghazi”…) 16th August, 2011 To the Rt. Hon. William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs My dear, […]
A few thoughts on the Iranian arms seizure
March 9, 2011
It was reported earlier that NATO had seized Iranian rockets on their way to the Taliban. William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, released a statement condemning this as ‘unacceptable’. Before the usual suspects claim to be shocked – shocked! – at this revelation, and use it as a cause for war, I think we should […]
Al-Qa’ida, the Taliban and military Orientalism
December 1, 2010
A new briefing paper analysing the relationship between al-Qu’aida and the Taliban was released today by the think tank Quillam. It was a welcome addition to my workload. My regular readers will know I’m working on a paper about Afghanistan and the UK Conservative Party, and understanding that relationship is important in dealing with their […]
Hague goes to Washington!
November 17, 2010
William Hague gave the last speech in his series on the coalition government’s foreign policy tonight, speaking to students at Georgetown University. To be honest, I tuned out for much of it simply because there wasn’t anything new (I’ve spent the last two months going over and over his and other Conservatives’ statements on foreign […]
Some initial thoughts on the NSS and SDSR
October 19, 2010
I don’t want to write too much about the National Security Strategy and the defence review, as I’m working on a much longer post fitting both papers into Conservative foreign policy thinking over the last five years. But there are some brief points I want to make now. The National Security Strategy will not be […]
Looking for the ‘grand strategy’ in an Anglo-Indian partnership
July 26, 2010
The Prime Minister is going to India this week, heading a large team that includes Cabinet ministers and leading companies. ‘[It] is likely to be the most heavyweight British delegation to the country since the Raj came to an end’, according to one report. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made a similar point […]
‘Hague of the FCO…Goes to Asia!’
July 17, 2010
William Hague gave the second of his four speeches the other day outlining the Coalition’s foreign policy, which was barely reported by any one. That it wasn’t a subject of interest for the media is surprising, given it’s theme was foreign policy supporting the economy. Incidentally, this is a fine piece exploring the Foreign Secretary’s […]
Hague at the FCO: A new paradigm in British foreign policy?
July 7, 2010
The speech that William Hague gave last Thursday began laying the foundations for ‘clear, focused and effective’ foreign policy, according to him. A friend of mine scoffed at my suggestion recently that foreign policy and national security would be the coalition’s main priority after the economy, him suggesting I should tell Conservative MPs that. There […]
August 20, 2012
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