Proposal to replace the Foreign Office’s “elitist” department run by retired diplomats
The Foreign Office should be abolished and replaced with a new Department for International Affairs that would have “fewer colonial era pictures on the wall,” according to a group of former top diplomats and officials.
They have produced a pamphlet detailing a radical shift in UK foreign policy.
They say that the Foreign Office is “struggling to deliver a clear mandate,” “rooted in the past,” and aristocratic.
In response, the department stated that its priorities were clear.
The group of former officials believes that in order to further Britain’s prosperity and security, the new department should be granted more authority to better coordinate development, trade and aid, and climate change initiatives in addition to traditional foreign policy.
The authors contend that doing this would be more beneficial to Britain’s long-term foreign policy objectives.
They contend that the department might increase Britain’s wealth and security by more effectively coordinating strategy on trade and assistance, development, and climate change, in addition to traditional foreign policy.
aristocratic
The authors suggest that Parliament should provide the new department “core objectives and mandates” that “endure beyond the tenure of individual ministers” in order to stop frequent changes to short-term policy.
Furthermore, they argue that the government ought to reaffirm its commitment to devote 1% of its revenue to the department’s overseas goals, in line with the current allocation of 2% of the nation’s resources to defence.
Among the authors are Moazzam Malik, a former director general of the Foreign Office; Lord Sedwill, a former cabinet secretary; and Tom Fletcher, a former ambassador and foreign affairs adviser to David Cameron, Gordon Brown, and Tony Blair.
The brochure “World in 2040: Renewing the UK’s Approach to International Affairs” provides an overview of the conclusions reached by national security advisers, former ministers, and senior civil servants during a two-day conference held in Oxford.
The authors level scathing criticism at the Foreign Office, formerly known as the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). It is “struggling to deliver a clear mandate, prioritisation, and resource allocation,” according to their claims.
They claim that the building ‘all too frequently functions like a large private office for the foreign secretary of the day, responding to the minister’s immediate concerns and ever-changing in tray’. Additionally, they claim that the FCDO merger and the Department of International Development “struggled to deliver.”
They claim that “the Foreign, Commonwealth (formerly ‘Colonial’) and Development Office is anchored in the past” just by virtue of its name.
aristocratic
A new department devoted to global affairs, or international affairs, may signal a change in focus. The fact that the Foreign Office is located on King Charles Street “also hint at the office’s identity: somewhat elitist and rooted in the past,” according to the brochure.
“Modernising the space—perhaps by hanging fewer images of the colonial era on the walls—might foster a more welcoming workplace environment and convey a strong message about Britain’s future.”
Situated on King Charles Street in Whitehall, the Foreign Office was built in the 1860s with a grand, classical Victorian architecture designed to impress foreign visitors during the height of the British Empire.
Numerous paintings portray Britain’s colonial history; one, outside the foreign secretary’s office, features a young black child representing Africa and carrying a basket of fruit high.
“An intermediate offshore power”
Britain has to get a deeper understanding of its “purpose, history, interests and assets as an off-shore, mid-sized power,” according to the writers’ main thesis.
They contend that it should forge new, “pragmatic” connections with other “middle powers” across the world as it “will not be able to rely on just its traditional alliances with the US and Europe.”
They argue that Britain’s social and economic connections with neighbouring countries, especially in Asia, will have a greater direct impact on the country’s security and prosperity in the future.
The former diplomats contend that the UK has to be ready to “share rights” with poor countries inside reformed multilateral organisations in order to be a part of these new coalitions.
Britain should welcome its new partners even though their “interests and values may be less closely aligned” with its own. They argue that the UK should “be more of a team-player, showing humility and respect,” as opposed to trying to project an image of “greatness” that “seems anachronistic today” to the rest of the globe.
In order to regain confidence, the pamphlet declares that “a stronger self-awareness of our status as a ‘off-shore’ nation is necessary.”
“There could be a lot to learn from nations like Norway, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan, which are able to use their size and independence to leverage significant influence on the world stage, as a mid-sized power outside the European Union.”
They argue that all of that can only be achieved by creating a new department of international affairs, which would supervise “long-term strategy and policy,” with more independent agencies taking care of much of the actual implementation.
The Foreign Office states that it has clear objectives, which include supporting international development, improving Middle East stability, aiding Ukraine, and boosting security, prosperity, and employment in the UK.
“As demonstrated by our reactions to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and in the Middle East, we are optimising the benefits of combining diplomacy and development in the FCDO to better handle global challenges,” an FCDO spokesperson said.
“As part of our commitment to exerting even more influence and impact on the global scene, we recently finished a department-wide review to make sure we are using our resources wisely, optimising all of our work on foreign policy, and enhancing our capacity for the future.
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