About us
The Foreign Policy Centre is a leading European think tank launched under the patronage of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to develop a vision of a fair and rule-based world order. Through our research, publications and events, we aim to develop innovative policy ideas which promote:
- Effective multilateral solutions to global problems
- Democratic and well-governed states as the foundation of order and development
- Partnerships with the private sector to deliver public goods
- Support for progressive policy through effective public diplomacy
- Inclusive definitions of citizenship to underpin internationalist policies.
The Foreign Policy Centre has produced a range of seminal publications by key thinkers, on subjects ranging from the future of Europe and international security to identity and the role of non-state actors in policymaking. They include After Multiculturalism by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Post-Modern State and the World Order by Robert Cooper, Network Europe and Public Diplomacy by Mark Leonard, The Beijing Consensus by Joshua Cooper Ramo, Trading Identities by Wally Olins and Pre-empting Nuclear Terrorism by Amitai Etzioni.
The Centre runs a rich and varied events programme which involves representatives from NGOs, think tanks, the private sector and government. They can interact with speakers who have included prime ministers, Nobel Prize laureates, global corporate leaders, activists, media figures and cultural entrepreneurs from around the world.
The Centre runs a unique internship programme – one of the best routes for new graduates into the foreign policy arena - which has already been offered to more than 70 graduates over the last five years.
How we work
The Foreign Policy Centre's mission of creating an inclusive and effective foreign policy requires a new way of working which differs from traditional approaches to foreign policy.
Joined-up thinking
Because today's problems have exploded across the boundaries of nations and departments of state, The Foreign Policy Centre has abandoned the tradition of organising its work according to geographical areas or particular government departments. We organise our thinking around the major cross-cutting global issues, so that we can create joined-up solutions.
"The Foreign Policy Centre is desperately needed because no one is thinking about foreign policy in a 'joined-up' way…" - The Independent
New ways of judging policy
The old definition of "the national interest" is too narrow a guide to foreign policy in a globalised world, but we do not yet have the new rules which should replace it. Instead of a media caricature of an "ethical foreign policy" as an arms-sales litmus test, the Foreign Policy Centre believes that new, comprehensive and rigorous tests for policy are necessary, so that outcomes which do justice to the complexity of the interests involved can be assured.
"The Foreign Policy Centre brings new thinking to British diplomacy…" - Michael Binyon, The Times
Lasting solutions for the long-term
Traditionally, the foreign policy community has been happy to see policy driven by events rather than ideas, meaning that policy often has a very short timescale. In economic policy, a strategy is defined and sought to be maintained, even as it is inevitably buffeted by global economic events. The Foreign Policy Centre believes that foreign policy should be planned in the same way, and that thinking about foreign policy should be done using longer time frames.
"…the Centre's approach challenges the short-termism of most foreign policy thinking…" - Svenska Dagbladet
Engaging with new audiences
The Foreign Policy Centre talks in a language people understand, rather than shrouding debates in academic jargon. We seek to engage with people through television, radio and the internet. Rather than seeking only to influence civil servants in the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence, we aim our work at all those who can influence foreign policy: government departments from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Home Office, policy-makers across Europe, academic communities, voluntary organisations and multi-national companies. We also aim - above and beyond these groups - to change what the public thinks is right, wrong or possible with regard to foreign policy.
"The Foreign Policy Centre will make foreign policy feel less like the preserve of an elite and more the topic of national conversation…" - The Guardian
The Foreign Policy Centre is a partner of ISN - the International Relations and Security Network, a Swiss-based global library of public policy information. www.isn.ethz.ch