I’ve been reading up on Chatham House’s latest report, out this morning, on the UK’s role on the world stage. Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs) is one of the world’s leading institutions for foreign affairs thinking. Since 1920, Chatham House has sought to inform politicians and diplomats of challenges and potential new ways of approaching foreign affairs challenges, through academic study, publishing and debates with some of the world’s leading states-people.

Britain’s role in the world has never been permanent. We are particularly subject to world conditions, being the open economy, and open culture that we are. Britain has led the world on globalisation, since the days of the British Empire. Some form of Anglo-Saxon free market principles underpin much of the modern-day capitalism that drives commerce. In the 20th century, Britain’s status as an imperial power waned thanks to war and the desire for independence throughout the British colonies, and the UK had to find new ways of influencing the world, and that continues through our cultural influence, our economic influence, our history and our position in a number of international organisations:

"The UK is perhaps the only country of its size, resources and assets to continue to play a global role, given its history, its position as a global hub (for instance through the English language, the role of the City of London, its universities, etc.), and its membership of international clubs (the Security Council P5, European Union, Commonwealth, NATO, G8, G20, etc.)."

In the most recent years, Britain has retained a position of global leadership by carrying out military action on a number of fronts. Iraq & Afghanistan come to mind first and foremost, but Britain has also been active in Kosovo, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and a number of other places. We have also developed a ‘hub mentality’ whereby policy-makers have made it easy for global businesses to base themselves in the City of London for example, which has also contributed to the country’s influence. High quality education, the fact that the UK is the home of the English language, and the work of organisations like the British Council have also been factors in retaining a global role for Britain.

But as the Chatham House report points out, the whole world is now in a phase of uncertainty. Globalisation is at a peak, countries are interdependent more than ever, financial peaks and troughs affect people and societies on the other side of the planet. The Internet is widespread and simple cross-border or global communication is no longer a distant concept. The aptly named ‘global economic crisis’ which began in 2008 and in many ways is continuing today, as well as the growing list of sovereign debt crises which have knock-on effects around the world, demonstrate that we are all more vulnerable to international instability than we were in the past. As an open society, Britain is more likely to suffer from this international volatility than a more sheltered country would:

"Globalization is now in the midst of a ‘long crisis’ – an extended period of volatility as the world attempts to reconcile its demographic, economic and security challenges, within the constraints of scarce natural resources. As an open society and economy, the UK’s exposure to global risks is substantial and likely to grow. The main sources of strategic surprise for Britain will come from beyond national borders, constraining options available to government at home."

So how will the country adapt to this new international reality? Will a Conservative government which seeks to distance itself from Europe, threaten China with its nuclear arsenal and cut-and-run from challenges in places like Afghanistan, do what is necessary to retain Britain’s influence in the world over the next decade?

The report should be read in its entirety if you are interested, and you can find the link at the end of this article. But Alex Evans and David Steven make one overarching point: the UK, in order to be effective on the world stage must continue to be a ‘thought leader’ on the key issues of the economy, global security, global warming etc., rather than assume a position of leadership based on might and muscle alone. The executive summary says that ‘in order to organise for influence’, Britain should:

• "Establish new standards of leadership on global issues, by opening civil service posts to external applicants, recruiting more ambassadors for issues, appointing ministers for cross-cutting issues, and making more strategic use of knowledge and cultural assets (both publicly funded and independent) such as the Ditchley Foundation, the Defence Academy and the British Council."

• "Effectively deploy the UK’s membership of key alliances and networks, advance its ‘global competitiveness, global warming, and global poverty’ agenda for the European Union, using the Toronto G20 summit to launch the Prime Minister’s international agenda, and playing an active role in driving a reform agenda through NATO."

• "Develop the intelligence structures needed to support better decision-making, by building on its commitment to open data, conducting analysis jointly with other countries in order to drive consensus, developing capacity to rehearse comprehensive responses to global challenges, and creating a ‘red team’ to test assumptions on global risks."

• "Focus on the legitimacy of its foreign policy at home, by supporting a bigger role for Parliament on foreign policy, while using reform of the Lords to enhance the capacity of the Upper House on global issues."

• "Make bold decisions on scarce resources, conducting a first-principles review that looks across all UK international expenditure, allocating budgets by strategy not department, and systematically increasing ‘surge capacity’ to allow faster reaction to both risk and opportunity."

You can download the Chatham House report, Organizing for Influence: UK Foreign Policy in an Age of Uncertainty, here: