Adam Hug (Ed.)

August 2011 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download The New British Politics and Europe: Conflict or Cooperation (740 kilobyte PDF)

The FPC and European Commission Representation in the UK have published a new report entitled The new British politics and Europe: Conflict or cooperation? It explores how Britain's coalition government has coped with the potentially divisive issue of Europe, looking at how its approach has affected the UK's relations with other member states, what it means for the debate on the EU within the parties and the main challenges that lie ahead. The report also examines the way forward for Britain's pro-Europeans.

Edited by FPC Policy Director Adam Hug, the report features contributions from former Liberal Democrat leader Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP, leading Conservative Eurosceptic Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Labour's Shadow Europe Minister Wayne David MP, former Conservative leader in Brussels turned Lib Dem MEP and Vice-President of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott MEP, the founder of E!Sharp Paul Adamson and Professor of West European Politics at the University of Birmingham Anand Menon.

• The new British politics and Europe London event
• The new British politics and Europe Liverpool event
• The new British politics and Europe Edinburgh event

Nazenin Ansari (Ed.), Tahirih Danesh (Ed.)

May 2011

Download Iran Human Rights Review: Access to Information (950 kilobyte PDF)

The Iran Human Rights Review, edited by Nazenin Ansari and Tahirih Danesh, is a new Foreign Policy Centre project that seeks to be an important resource for policy makers and activists by combining information and opinion with analysis and recommendations for action.

This new edition of the Review focuses on the emergence of access to information as a pivotal element in promoting and protecting the Iranian human rights movement. It contains opinion pieces and detailed articles from a wide range of experts and activists with a focus on promoting a culture of human rights in Iran and the region. Contributors include: Dame Ann Leslie, Nasrin Alavi, Ramin Asgard, Shahriar Ahy, Negar Esfandiari, Claudia Mendoza, Saba Farzan, Nazanine Moshiri, Rossi Qajar, Mojtaba Saminejad, Ali Sheikholeslami, Meir Javedanfar, Potkin Azarmehr, Mariam Memarsadeghi.

Adam Hug

April 2011 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Kazakhstan at a Crossroads (710 kilobyte PDF)

To coincide with the early Presidential election of April 3rd 2011, the Foreign Policy Centre has produced its Kazakhstan at Crossroads publication, adapted and updated from three previous Foreign Policy Centre reports.

Kazakhstan at a Crossroads gives a clear overview of Kazakhstan's political, human rights and economic challenges, along with an assessment of its developing role in the world. After the missed opportunity of last year's OSCE Chairmanship the publication argues that if Kazakhstan wants to further develop a regional and global leadership role, the international community must insist that President Nazarbayev makes significant political reforms to improve its human rights and governance.

• Kazakhstan at a Crossroads project launch event

Adam Hug (Ed.)

February 2011 Hard copy: £4.95 , plus £1 p+p.

Download Spotlight on Armenia (1.34 megabyte PDF)

Spotlight on Armenia provides a clear analysis of the major challenges Armenia faces regarding democratic development, rule of law, media freedom, corruption and other human rights issues, while examining the impact of its international relationships on domestic politics. It argues for greater UK, EU and Western engagement in Armenia but that increased incentives must be matched by stronger pressure for reform.

Edited by Adam Hug (Foreign Policy Centre) the pamphlet contains contributions from leading Armenia experts including: The Caucasus Research Resource Centers, Tsira Chanturia (Penal Reform International), Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan (Eurasia Partnership Foundation), Narine Gasparyan (American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative), Richard Giragosian (Armenian Center for National and International Studies), Alexander Iskandaryan (Caucasus Institute), Dr Elisabeth Robson (East-West Insight), Vladimir Shkolnikov, Irina Urumova, Anna Walker (Control Risks) and Dr Mikael Zolyan (Brusov University).

• Spotlight on Armenia Washington Event
• Spotlight on Armenia London Event
• Spotlight on Armenia Brussels Event

Adam Hug

December 2010 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Full and Equal Citizens? (730 kilobyte PDF)

Full and Equal Citizens? How to deliver equality for Israel's Arab community is a major new report from the Foreign Policy Centre, written by Policy Director Adam Hug. It provides a detailed overview of some of the main challenges facing Israel's Arab community including the current polarised political environment, discrimination in the workplace and the linked challenges of housing, planning and access to land. Based on wide ranging research and interviews, invoking both Israel's Declaration of Independence and the principles laid out by the Or Commission, it gives a critical but constructive take on the situation and the challenges ahead. The report makes a number of important recommendations for both Israel and the international community. UK Shadow Foreign Affairs Minster with responsibility for the Middle East and Human Rights Stephen Twigg MP kindly provides the preface.

• Full and Equal Citizens project launch event

Tahirih Danesh (Ed.), Adam Hug (Ed.)

Download Iran Human Rights Review: Religion (1.16 megabyte PDF)

The Iran Human Rights Review is a new Foreign Policy Centre project that seeks to be an important resource for policymakers and activists that combines information and analysis with recommendations for action.

This inaugural edition of the review focuses on the critical issue of religion in relation to human rights in Iran. It contains short essays from some of the world's leading experts on Iranian human rights: Dr Shirin Ebadi, Dr Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Dr Shireen Hunter, Dr Abdol-Karim Lahidji, Hamid Hamidi, Dr Hossein Ladjevardi, Dr Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, and John Weston MP. Cherie Blair has kindly provided a preface.

Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP

September 2010

Download Responsibility to the poor: A new agenda for changed times (790 kilobyte PDF)

In a publication launched by the Foreign Policy Centre entitled 'Responsibility to the poor: A new agenda for changed times', the former UK Secretary of State for International Development, Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, outlines why justice not charity needs to underpin the fight against global inequality and poverty. FPC Co-President Baroness Jay provides the foreword.

• The Guardian Poverty Matters blog article about this report

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2010

Download Reconnecting the European Parliament and its people (580 kilobyte PDF)

As Westminster debates controversial reforms to the electoral system and its parliamentary procedures in an attempt to reconnect with the voters, time has come for reform to an institution that is perhaps facing bigger problems connecting with the public - the European Parliament.

The Foreign Policy Centre and the European Representation in the United Kingdom's new pamphlet, sets out a radical agenda for reforming the European Parliament's relationship with the public. Edited by FPC Policy Director Adam Hug, it contains important contributions from leading experts including Dr Richard Corbett (FPC Senior Research Associate, former MEP and member of the Cabinet of President Van Rompuy), Dr Michael Shackleton (Head of the UK office of the European Parliament) and Dr Christian Kaunert alongside key stakeholders Dr Adam Marshall (British Chambers of Commerce), Liz Atkins (formerly NCVO) and Cllr Flo Clucas (Local Government Association).

Reconnecting the European Parliament and its people proposes scrapping the current closed-list electoral system. It proposes a radical new system that mixes individual local constituencies with a national top-up list to ensure that every vote matters and that gives a clear answer to the question - 'who is my MEP?' It sets out ideas for reforming expenses, breaking the Strasbourg deadlock, making MEPs more accountable for their views and giving them greater powers in certain areas. The pamphlet recommends improvements in the way the European Parliament and its members work with stakeholders, the media and national parliaments.

• Reconnecting the EP and its People Cardiff event
• Reconnecting the EP and its People Edinburgh event
• Reconnecting the EP and its People London event

Dr David Tickner, Josephine Osikena (Ed.)

May 2010 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Tackling the world water crisis (790 kilobyte PDF)

This new FPC publication is being launched to mark World Environment Day (5 June). The report aims to stimulate discussion and debate amongst a wide ranging audience in an effort to promote the centrality of water on today's foreign policy agenda, particularly in light of the increasing environmental shocks and stresses presented by climate change and global population growth. In an increasingly interconnected world, where cooperation is no longer an option but an imperative, how can foreign policy inform and provide a more effective response to improving the management of freshwater while ensuring reliable and sustainable access?

Contributors to the pamphlet include: Rt Hon William Hague MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Baroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Professor J.A. Tony Allan, King's College, London and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS); Richard Black, BBC News; Belinda Calaguas, Director of Policy & Campaigns, ActionAid; Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent, The Financial Times, Dr Bruce Lankford, University of East Anglia; Bernice Lee, Research Director, Energy, Environment and Resource Governance, Chatham House; David Nussbaum, Chief Executive, WWF-UK; Dr Letitia A. Obeng, Chair, Global Water Partnership (GWP); Dan Smith, General Secretary, International Alert; Dr Martin R. Stuchtey, McKinsey & Company Inc.; Dr Camilla Toulmin, Director, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED); and Stephen Twigg MP, former Director, Foreign Policy Centre.

The report is being launched at the House of Lords on 3 June at 4.30pm. For more information, or to register, please email: events@fpc.org.uk

• Tackling the world water crisis London event

in 'US Strategy in Africa' Ed. D.Francis

Josephine Osikena

Download 'Geopolitics beyond Washington?' by Josephine Osikena (310 kilobyte PDF)

The US Government launched Africa Command (AFRICOM) on 1 October 2008. But how relevant is AFRICOM for Africans and Africa? To what extent is Africa's response to AFRICOM and broader US strategic interests, influenced and challenged by Africa's alliances with new global centres of power beyond Washington, who have competing motives and approaches to development and security? What are the implications of all this for US policy-makers?

This new article by FPC Democracy and Development director Josephine Osikena, published in 'US Strategy in Africa: Africom, Terrorism and Security Challenges' edited by Prof David J Francis of Bradford University, explores the challenges associated with AFRICOM's predominant focus on the militarisation of African security, by surveying examples of African partnerships with non-OECD actors, including: Brazil in the sphere of social development; India in terms of self-determination, sovereignty and global governance; China with regard to economic growth, particularly in the areas of commodities and infrastructural development; and finally, the emerging role that Africa has begun to play regarding food security in the Middle East.

In conclusion, the article raises a number of questions for US policymakers to consider, including: how, in a changing world with the rise of new centres of power, might US-Africa policy better connect with African people and African governments? How might a more informed and coherent US approach better serve Africa's own development and security agendas, as well as secure strategic US interests on the continent? And, indeed, it asks if this is even possible.

• Purchase 'US Strategy in Africa' by Prof David J Francis
• More from the Routledge Global Security Studies series
• University of Bradford - Department of Peace Studies

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2009 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Spotlight on Georgia pamphlet (3.71 megabyte PDF)

The FPC's Spotlight on Georgia pamphlet examines the growing human rights and governance challenges facing Georgia. It highlights increasing concerns both, internal and international, about Georgian rule of law, media freedom, policing and electoral processes. The pamphlet recommends how Georgia must reform and what the international community should do to support it.

Spotlight on Georgia was edited by Adam Hug, FPC Policy Director. It contains contributions from authors including: Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner; EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby; the Deputy Public Defender of Georgia Giorgi Chekheidze; former UK Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP; Chair of the UK's Georgian All Party Parliamentary Group Bruce George MP; former US Ambassador to the USSR Ambassador Arthur Hartman; Author and Conciliation Resources Associate Thomas de Waal; former OSCE Policing Advisor Marco Kubny; Elsa Vidal from Reporters Without Borders; Giorgi Gogia from Human Rights Watch; and Dr Hans Gutbrod from the Caucasus Research Resource Centres.

• Spotlight on Georgia: Irakli Alasania event
• Spotlight on Georgia: project launch event

Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Tahirih Danesh

Download Persian (Farsi) translation of 'From Cradle to Coffin' (420 kilobyte PDF)

The full text of 'From Cradle to Coffin: A Report on Child Executions in Iran' translated into Persian (Farsi)is now available to download here.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Tahirih Danesh

2009 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download From Cradle to Coffin: A Report on Child Executions in Iran (2.91 megabyte PDF)

'From Cradle to Coffin: A Report on Child Executions in Iran' lays out the shocking history of child executions since the creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It highlights the fact that in a country where 47% of the population is under 18, over the last five years there have been 33 known child executions while over 160 juveniles wait on death row for 'crimes' including homosexuality, sex outside of marriage and apostasy. It was written by Nazanin Afshin-Jam, who addition to being President of SCE is a singer/songwriter and former Miss World 1st Runner up and Tahirih Danesh, FPC Senior Research Associate.

The report examines the Iranian legal system, its religious groundings and Iran's commitments under international law. It provides detailed case studies of young people who have been executed or are on death row. Iran has indicated its willingness to end juvenile executions but rhetoric must now be replaced with action. If Iran continues to execute juvenile offenders, which violates its obligations under international human rights law, such abuses should not go with impunity. The report makes a number of key recommendations for action to the Iranian Authorities, the international community and to activists.

• From Cradle to Coffin launch event

Carlos Bellini, Daniel Lledo, Thiago de Aragao

Download 2009 Elections in Latin America (140 kilobyte PDF)

This report presents an evaluation of the legislative elections in Argentina and their impact on the Presidential succession of 2011, as well as an evaluation of the Presidential candidates in Uruguay, chosen through their parties' primaries. The Presidential election is scheduled for October 2009.

Josephine Osikena

2009

Download Women & Children First: Leadership and the HIV & AIDS Crisis (470 kilobyte PDF)

Throughout 2008, the Foreign Policy Centre, with the support of Abbott, hosted a series of three expert roundtable discussions. The series brought together small groups of experts and specialists from government, the media, academia, the medical profession, local and international civil society, public bodies and institutions, the private sector and representatives from the diplomatic community in London. Together they explored the challenges faced by women and children, who often experience the effects of the HIV & AIDS epidemic more severely than men, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara. The areas of discussion included: building sustainable healthcare systems, child survival and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and overcoming the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV & AIDS.

This new FPC report brings together some of the key findings and conclusions drawn from the roundtables, as well as from the relevant literature, and makes some concrete recommendations for action.

• Women and Children First launch event

Geoffrey Cameron, Tahirih Danesh, Barrie Boles

2009

Download A Revolution Without Rights? (3.14 megabyte PDF)

In this Foreign Policy Centre pamphlet, written by Tahirih Danesh, Geoffrey Cameron and Barrie Boles, the authors examine the religious, legal and social obstacles to equality faced by women, Baha'is and Kurds in Iran, comparing the experiences of the groups.

Cameron, Danesh and Boles evaluate the Iranian government's compliance with its own constitution and look at how Iran's treatment of women and minorities measures up to the international agreements it has signed. The pamphlet lays out practical steps that British and European policy-makers can take to support the equal treatment of women and minorities with their fellow citizens in Iran.

(n.b at time of publication Barrie Boles prefered for her contribution to remain anonymous, hence the omission of her name from the pamphlet's jacket)

• A Revolution Without Rights? launch event

Tahirih Danesh, Geoffrey Cameron

Download A Revolution Without Rights? - Executive Summary (Farsi) (90 kilobyte PDF)

This is the Farsi translation of the Executive Summary of the new Foreign Policy Centre pamphlet written by Geoffrey Cameron and Tahirih Danesh, in which the authors examine the religious, legal and social obstacles to equality faced by women, Baha'is and Kurds in Iran.

Adam Hug (Ed.)

2009 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download the pamphlet (1.36 megabyte PDF)

This FPC pamphlet supported by Business for New Europe makes the economic and business case for Turkish membership of the European Union and outlines the political challenges faced by both sides in making accession a reality.

Edited by Adam Hug, it contains contributions from: Rt Hon David Miliband MP, Rt Hon William Hague MP, Commissioner Olli Rehn, Roland Rudd (Chairman, Business for New Europe) Dr Mehmet Ugur (University of Greenwich), Prof Refik Erzan (Bogazici University), Dr Bahadir Kaleagasi (TUSIAD, the Turkish business association), Sir Julian Horn Smith, (UK Co-Chair, Turkish British Business Council) and Dr Gareth Winrow (formerly of Istanbul Bilgi University).

• Turkey in Europe launch event

In association with Coca-Cola Great Britain

Download the background paper (140 kilobyte PDF)

This is an initial background paper to accompany the FPC project on Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Markets in association with Coca-Cola Great Britain.

• Marketplace Practices and CSR in Emerging Markets event
• Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Markets event
• Labour Standards and CSR in Emerging Markets event

2007

Download The Democratiya Interviews (1.36 megabyte PDF)

Price: £9.95 + £2 p&p (UK orders) / US$45 (overseas orders)

This book brings together a series of conversations about the dilemmas of progressive foreign policy after 9/11. Democratiya editor Alan Johnson talks to Jean Bethke Elshtain, Martin Shaw, Kanan Makiya, Paul Berman, David Held, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Ladan Boroumand, Anne-Marie Slaughter (now Director of Policy Planning at the US State Department), Joshua Muravchik and Mary Kaldor.

To order:

Send a cheque for £11.95 (for UK orders) made payable to The Foreign Policy Centre or an international money order for US$45 (for overseas orders) to: The Foreign Policy Centre (Book Orders), Suite 14, 2nd Floor, 23-28 Penn Street, London N1 5DL, UK. Make clear you are ordering 'Global Politics After 9/11' and include your full postal address.

• Order Online using Paypal (via Democratiya)
• Global Politics after 9/11 launch event

Alex Bigham (Ed.)

July 2007 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download the report (440 kilobyte PDF)

The Foreign Policy Centre, in conjunction with Channel 4, set up an independent, cross-party Commission tasked with producing a blueprint for Britain's future involvement in Iraq.

Alex Bigham (Ed.)

2007 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

The Foreign Policy Centre is delighted to launch of the new report, 'Having Faith in Foreign Policy'. This collection of essays brings together faith leaders and intellectuals to discuss, debate and attempt to answer some of the most vexed questions of our age: what is the relationship between religion and the state in a post-modern society; what is the interaction between faith, conflict and development and how can governments and leaders reach out to citizens who may feel disengaged from foreign policy?

This report and event are supported by HE Anthony Bailey, KCSS, Eligo International (www.eligo.net) and the Grand Magistral Delegation for Inter-Religious Relations of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (www.constantinian.com).

Josephine Osikena

Hill & Knowlton

January 2007

Download the report (190 kilobyte PDF)

by Josephine Osikena

The Foreign Policy Centre recently hosted a seminar and reception entitled: "Redefining Multilateralism: The Commonwealth as a Catalyst for Change?" The event was addressed by John Battle MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development and Rt Hon Donald McKinnon, Secretary General of the Commonwealth.

In May 2006 the Prime Minister argued that:

"There is a "hopeless mismatch" between the global challenges we face and the global institutions available to confront them,[…] now is the moment for reconciliation in the international community around a unifying agenda for global action."

Today there are a number of obstacles to promoting international co-operation. From the indefinite suspension of the Doha Development Round, to developing a reformed United Nations system which meets the challenges of the 21st century and beyond. We witness the crisis in the International Monetary Fund and the growing irrelevance of the Work Bank in meeting today's global development concerns.

This discussion paper is a response to some of those challenges, and is intended to provoke debate about how to respond to new ideas about multilateralism

The event and paper was kindly sponsored by Hill and Knowlton.

Joshua Cooper Ramo

Supported by Hill & Knowlton

February 2007

Download Brand China (260 kilobyte PDF)

In this new report, from the author of the widely discussed paper 'The Beijing Consensus', Ramo argues that China's national image, and the misalignment between China's image of itself and how it is viewed by the rest of the world, may be its greatest strategic threat. It argues that alongside its other reforms, China needs a 'fifth transition' if the trust and understanding necessary for the next stage of its development are to be achieved.

This paper has been kindly supported by Hill & Knowlton.

February 2007

Download Time to Talk (390 kilobyte PDF)

Military attack on Iran would have disastrous consequences warns new report: Coalition urges new diplomatic push to avoid crisis

Military action against Iran could have disastrous global consequences according to a new report published today by a diverse group of organisations including Oxfam, the Foreign Policy Centre, faith groups and others.

The Coalition includes: Amicus, Amos Trust, British Muslim Forum, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Foreign Policy Centre, GMB, International Physicians against the Prevention of Nuclear War, Medact, Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim Parliament, Ockenden International, Oxfam, Oxford Research Group, Pax Christi, PCS, People and Planet, Unison.

http://www.crisisiran.com/

Download the report (130 kilobyte PDF)

A Farsi translation of the Executive summary of Time to Talk is available for download.

Foreign Policy Centre

December 2006 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Balochis of Pakistan: On the margins of history (450 kilobyte PDF)

On 4 December 2006, the Foreign Policy Centre held a seminar on Balochistan, a volatile region of Pakistan. This was part of a series of events the Foreign Policy Centre is organising in Parliament on conflicts that receive little attention in the media or elsewhere.

The meeting launched the FPC report, Balochis of Pakistan: On the margins of history.

STEPHEN TWIGG, the FPC's Director said:

"This pamphlet sets out a powerful and well argued case that the Balochi people have been let down - by the British Empire, by the founders of modern India and by successive Governments in Pakistan. It is a fascinating analysis which we hope will contribute to constructive discussion about Balochistan's future."

Tony Blair

APCO Worldwide

September 2006 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download A Global Alliance for Global Values (590 kilobyte PDF)

The pamphlet was inspired by a set of 3 landmark speeches made by then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2006.

The pamphlet was supported by APCO Worldwide.

Alex Bigham

September 2006 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Voices from Iran (1.35 megabyte PDF)

Based on a series of interviews with civil society actors in Iran, this publication seeks to showcase the spectrum of opinion amongst Iranians on the direction their country is taking.

'Voices from Iran' follows on from a previous FPC report, 'Understanding Ira'n, where we attempted to map out the political structure in Iran and outline the FPC's belief that there needs to be a negotiated solution to the nuclear crisis, and that the failure to engage successfully with Iran is due to a failure to understand the government and its political structures.

With Iran having presented its response to the EU-3 package of incentives on the 22nd August, and a UN Security Council Resolution expired at end of this month, Iran is at the top of the international community's agenda. This new report argues that human rights, democracy and civil liberties in Iran must not be sidelined during the discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Sarah Schaefer, Edward Young

August 2006

Download Burdened by Brussels? (190 kilobyte PDF)

The issue of 'gold-plating' is a subject of growing controversy. In this Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) report, eight directives which have been identified by FSB members as particularly burdensome are analysed and a number of recommendations are made.

Christopher J Forster

April 2006

Download China's Secret Weapon (320 kilobyte PDF)

Preface by Lord Charles Powell of Bayswater

The Wall Street Journal reported recently how foreign-invested R&D centres in China have almost quadrupled to 750 over the last four years. The Foreign Policy Centre report bears this out with statistics showing that China is now ranked third in the world for total R&D spending. It estimates that by 2010 China will have the same number of science and engineering graduates as the United States. The idea that China is a sweat-shop economy is very dated. Instead it is a growing challenge to the previously comfortable technological lead of the Western countries.

Further information 

Rouzbeh Pirouz, Rawan Maayeh

April 2006

Download the report (200 kilobyte PDF)

Enhancing the role of civil society and other political actors within Arab countries as well as the reliability of evaluation mechanisms for informing the international community of tangible advances came under significant examination. Furthermore, given that external calls for reform are inherently limited in the absence of domestic forces, the potential for and limitations of partnerships across regional boundaries is a key theme for discussions on change.

The Civility Programme at the Foreign Policy Centre, in conjunction with the Royal Institute for International Relations (IRRI-KIIB), organised a two-day conference in Brussels to assess the merits and record of international initiatives for encouraging reform in the Arab world. The G8 Broader Middle East Initiative, the Middle East Partnership Initiative as well as the Barcelona Process were the subjects of the conference.

Thiago de Aragao

March 2006

Download the report (50 kilobyte PDF)

Latin America is a region characterised by a consistently high potential for economic and social development, but faces serious difficulties in accomplishing this task. Throughout the last few decades Latin America has experienced periods of economic growth generally followed by moments of stark recession. Such economic growth cycles have always been tremendously difficult to maintain and, most of all, use in creating positive results for social development. In some ways, the economic history of South America has been a permanent alternation of these cycles - a typical stop and go – or, 'like a chicken flying', always short and low.

Further information 

Dan Plesch

March 2006

Download Future of Britain's WMD (190 kilobyte PDF)

This report discusses replacing Britain's Trident nuclear missile system. It examines British dependence on the United States and concludes that most of the discussion on the replacement is based on the false premise that the UK has an independent nuclear weapon. To support this conclusion the report reviews the history of Britain's involvement with nuclear weapons from 1940 to the present day to show a sixty-year-old pattern of British dependence on the US for WMD.

Further information 

Dan Plesch, Greg Austin, Fiona Grant, Stephen Sullivan

March 2006 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Bio-Energy and CAP Reform (270 kilobyte PDF)

Britain is falling behind on all of its climate change and renewable energy targets, even as scientific opinion grows ever more alarmed at the rate of global warming. There is a growing need for urgent and comprehensive action. The government will publish an energy policy review in mid-2005. It cannot be allowed a 'business as usual' approach or a continuation of gradual adjustments. This pamphlet will provide a close look at one area where a radical new approach can produce speedy results.

Further information 

Chris Forster, James Owen

February 2006

Download Understanding Iran: a solution to the nuclear crisis? (60 kilobyte PDF)

Western diplomats seeking to arrest the emergence of a nuclear Iran must acknowledge the motivations, grievances and insecurities that shape Iranian self-perception, its view of international relations and its nuclear ambitions.

Further information 

Denis MacShane MP

February 2006

Download Britain's Voice in Europe (150 kilobyte PDF)

Once again the European question is being asked. What is Europe for? Why are the British so doggedly Eurosceptic? Is the EU a response to 20th century problems no longer really needed in the new era of globalisation? Is there such a thing as a European identity?

The purpose of this pamphlet will be to argue that finding answers to these essentialist questions about Europe provide fascinating topics for political scientists, columnists, and speech- or article-writers for ministers but they are not the right questions. Instead the author takes it as a given that the EU is not going to disappear and that Britain will not quit the EU in any foreseeable future.

This pamphlet will seek to answer a question that our scratchy, name-calling EU debate in Britain fails to ask: how can Britain maximise its influence in Europe and what new mechanisms or policies are needed to achieve greater democratic oversight of the decisions taken in our name by the European Union.

Seema Desai

January 2006

Download the report (250 kilobyte PDF)

As the centre of gravity in the world's economy continues to move east, it appears increasingly anachronistic that the only Asian country represented at the G8 table is Japan, by all accounts a stagnating economic and political power in the world. The time is approaching for China to be invited to be a full member of the G8, and for the new G9 or G10 (if India is included) to focus on its central objective: to preside over and guide the world's economy.

Further information 

Andrei Piontkovsky

January 2006

Download East or West? (190 kilobyte PDF)

The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a geopolitical earthquake that redrew the map of Europe and Central Asia. In his state-of-the-nation address, in April 2005, Russia's President Vladimir Putin went so far as to describe it as the 'biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century'. His declaration caused a stir among the world's political scientists, sociologists, economists and even philosophers. Yet the full import of his words was lost on much of his foreign audience. 'For the Russian people', Putin continued, the collapse of the Soviet Union 'became a real drama'.

Further information 

Maxine Molyneux, Phoebe Griffith, Josephine Osikena

Barrow Cadbury Trust, WAITS

2006 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Understanding Women's Social Capital (1.24 megabyte PDF)

2005 Global Exchange Forum Report

Philip Fiske de Gouveia, with Hester Plumridge, Philip Fiske de Gouveia

November 2005

Download European Infopolitik (350 kilobyte PDF)

With this year's tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Process – the initiative by whichthe EU has tried to foster greater co-operation in the greater Mediterraneanarea – Europe and its southern neighbours have much to celebrate. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has been almost unprecedented in its ambition and, while it has not been without its problems, has contributed significantly to the development of international economic and cultural ties with the region.

Further information 

Andrew Small

November 2005

Download Preventing the Next Cold War (360 kilobyte PDF)

2005 has seen the emergence of political dynamics and shifts in thinking in both Washington and Beijing that risk tipping US-China relations over into a state of open geopolitical rivalry unless there are concerted attempts at conflict prevention.

Further information 

Douglas Alexander MP

October 2005

Download Europe in a Global Age (200 kilobyte PDF)

Europe is coming of age. The European Union has focussed its energies inwards for the past fifty years – developing the Common Market and harmonising laws and practices across the continent. Now, however, it faces new challenges: a global market that is ever more crowded; competition ever more intense and innovative; pressures on society ever more divisive; and new forms of threats and dangers which are no longer contained largely within our border. To survive and prosper in the twenty-first century, Europe must now address its own problems from this global perspective.

Further information 

Greg Austin, Claude Misson

October 2005

Download Leeds Manifesto (200 kilobyte PDF)

The EU has promised to double aid to Africa in the next five years to complement a new effort by the eight richest countries to promote the welfare, prosperity and security of ordinary Africans. In the last year, EU aid ministers have been offered thousands of pages of advice on how to spend this money. There is a fear that they may double the size of existing aid bureaucracies in Brussels and at home to deliver the increases. African countries will certainly face problems absorbing a doubling of aid if it is delivered through traditional aid mechanisms. This short manifesto is a plea to EU Aid Ministers to take a strategic approach to spending the new money in ways that actually enable more individual Africans to take the lead in transforming their own economic and social systems.

Dr. Greg Austin

October 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Next Attack (330 kilobyte PDF)

The UK is not doing enough to defeat Al Qaeda and other jihadist terrorists who threaten the country and its citizens with mass murder. The UK is not alone in the dock, but it is in the dock. Osama bin Laden remains at large and Saudi Arabia remains an important point of origin for the export of terrorism, especially extremist sentiment and money. Saudi money is also feeding the insurgency and terrorism in Iraq. Not enough new money is going to MI6. Notwithstanding the attention paid to young male British Muslims after the attacks of 7 July, the bigger threat probably remains foreign members or followers of Al Qaeda.

Further information 

Sarah Schaefer, Greg Austin, Kate Parker

September 2005

Download Turks in Europe (260 kilobyte PDF)

There is a new political contest about the relationship between the European Union and its 'national' components, and how they all should deal with 'outsiders'. The prospect of Turkey's entry to the European Union has triggered a remarkable outburst of fear and anxiety in some member states. Voters know that issues of national identity, the economy, social welfare and future migration are all tied up in some rather momentous way with Turkey's projected accession, but cannot see too clearly how. This pamphlet tries to bring the argument back down to the individual level.

Further information 

David Clark, Neil Kinnock, Michael Leahy, Ken Livingstone, John Monks, Stephen Twigg

September 2005

Download the report (110 kilobyte PDF)

At this decisive moment in the development of both the European Uion and the democratic left, European politics must not be allowed to become a competitive struggle between different national approaches. This pamphlet argues that a social model of the future must reflect a synthesis of what is best in each whilst still facilitating advances which accord with national preferences and conditions. In this process, Britain has much to offer, but it also still has much to learn.

Further information 

Stephen Twigg, Dan Plesch, Greg Austin, Fiona Grant

2005

Download the report (250 kilobyte PDF)

The UK Government has made the case for a rapid shift to renewable energy from a number of perspectives: national security, economic prosperity and protection of the global environment. Yet its targets in this area are among the lowest in Europe.

The UK clearly needs to change the way it thinks about its energy future. This pamphlet firstly sets the global scene by highlighting new global risks involved in continuing a 'business as usual' approach. It then looks more closely at how we on the 'home front' must respond to new security risks associated with energy policy.

John Bercow MP, Victoria Roberts

September 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download Promote Freedom or Protect Oppressors (160 kilobyte PDF)

The UN Charter commits its signatories to promoting basic principles of human rights and to saving people from the scourge of war. At a time of unprecedented examination of how to improve the working of the UN, this pamphlet reminds us of the virtue of returning to basics. We can evaluate any reform proposal against a simple criterion: Does it promote freedom or does it protect oppressors? With the UN failures in Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur as evidence of systemic weakness in the UN system, John Bercow and Victoria Roberts make a compelling case for qualitatively new approaches. The authors stress that if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, we will have to do better to meet the challenges posed by fragile states.  The Millennium Review Summit presents a real opportunity for reform of the UN. The authors recommend what amounts to a new 'security council' for people: a Human Rights Council. They support the proposal for the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission and advocate a ban on the use of the veto in cases of genocide.

Dr Mark Imber

September 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download Un Security Council Reform (30 kilobyte PDF)

Following the Iraq war of 2003 Kofi Annan identified a stark choice for the UN: effectiveness or irrelevance. Dr Imber argues that the High Level Panel Report of 2004 and the follow-up In Larger Freedom provide useful reference points for the future of the UN: an expanded view of human security, expansion of Security Council membership, and recognition of US priorities on terrorism and self-defence. However, Dr Imber also identifies obstacles to reform, including confusion over the understanding of 'UN reform' itself, the lack of resilience of the UN Charter, the expansion of 'competing' multilateral organisations (such as the G8 or the European Union), and diverse reform agendas.

Further information 

Shairi Mathur

September 2005

Download Voting for the Veto (170 kilobyte PDF)

The case for India's permanent seat in the Security Council is as compelling as it is simple. India is the world's largest democracy, soon to be the world's most populous country, and home to over 15 per cent of the world's population; it possesses nuclear weapons and strategic missiles; it has at various times taken a global leadership role, not least in its co-founding of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1955; and as an early champion of the concept of 'peaceful co-existence' between the communist bloc and the free world, India has been a leading advocate of 'peaceful' foreign policies and non-aggression. In 2005, the World Bank ranked India as having the fourth biggest GDP in the world (in terms of purchasing power parity), and tenth biggest (in terms of the conventional GDP measure). India has taken part in more than 30 UN peacekeeping operations. By any sensible measure of 'equity', the reform of the Security Council in 2005 should result in India's elevation to the Security Council with the same powers as China and the USA.

Further information 

Jennifer Moll (ed.)

August 2005

Download Blueprint for Russia (250 kilobyte PDF)

This FPC publication explores political change in Russia. It is now available for purchase and will be launched at the FPC's Fringe Event at the Labour Party Conference.

Utilising each author's expertise, this pamphlet compiles a broad range of opinions to outline a Blueprint for Russia. The contributions focus on political change in Russia as it relates to the three key policy areas of law, the economy and political pluralism.

Further information 

Raffaella Murano

July 2005

Download Political Abuse of Judicial Process in Europe's East (110 kilobyte PDF)

This policy brief outlines some of the negative trends in rule of law compliance in the CIS, examining Russia, Ukraine and giving special consideration to the Republic of Moldova and the case of former Defence Minister, Valeriu Pasat. These negative trends represent a new pattern, whereby leaders are abusing newly constructed judicial systems to achieve extra-judicial, political goals.

CIS leaders must act now to regain the trust of their citizens by making sweeping changes, both physically and functionally to judicial systems. Other European countries and their multilateral institutions (EU, CoE and OSCE) need to acknowledge the emerging negative trend of judicial abuse and deliver both political incentives and assistance programmes more likely to have strategic effects on the practices of CIS judicial systems.

Dick Leonard

June 2005

Download Counter-terrorism and human rights - is the EU on course? (20 kilobyte PDF)

The EU responded with commendable – if unusual – alacrity to the worldwide terrorist threat unleashed on 11 September 2001.

Now, nearly four years later, Amnesty International has produced a disturbing report questioning how far this objective has been met.

Dick Leonard examines the EU's approach to counter-terrorism in an article published in The European Voice.

Dr Greg Austin

June 2005

Download Reform in Europe after the 2005 Referendums (140 kilobyte PDF)

Dr Greg Austin, FPC Director of Research, has called on EU leaders to champion an interpretation of the French and Dutch referendums that recognises the results for what they are and calling for a review of the referendum process.

The two referendums were not a definitive vote by a majority of the electorate on the idea of the Constitution. The results were more likely a repudiation of existing elite-driven processes of EU reform.

Suspending the ratification process for a couple of years may be the minimum amount of time required for future success.

Grace Annan

2005

Download European Parliament Policy Brief (60 kilobyte PDF)

This Policy Brief reviews a recent plea from the European Parliament for a stronger voice in the constitutional arrangements for EU foreign and security policy. In the wake of the referendum results in France and the Netherlands, there is a new recognition that European leaders must address the democratic deficit in EU decision-making. Whether or not the Parliament succeeds in these bids will depend on its ability to speak with one voice and to actively make this voice heard in national capitals in the coming one to two years.

Laura Rayner

June 2005

Download The EU Foreign Ministry and Union Embassies (250 kilobyte PDF)

In this FPC pamphlet Laura Rayner, an information specialist in public policy from the Australian Parliamentary Library, examines the key issues associated with the creation of a new European External Action Service.

With the French and Dutch referenda on the draft Constitutional Treaty each producing a resounding 'No', the proposal in the draft to set up a new European External Action Service (EEAS), or Foreign Ministry of Europe, may appear to some observers to be pretty much dead in the water. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the politics of European integration are going to get much hotter in the coming two years than at any time since 1993, the problems that caused the European Council to support the creation of new EEAS will not go away simply because the draft Constitutional Treaty is under threat. They were there before the talk of a Constitution emerged as strongly as it did three or four years ago, and they will be every bit as important in spite of the problems with ratification of the draft treaty.

Further information 

Oleg Panfilov

June 2005

Download the report (160 kilobyte PDF)

The re-emergence of the traditions of Soviet propaganda since 2000 represents a new era for the Russian media and domestic policy. This development has been facilitated by the dominance of Soviet-era journalists: up to 70 per cent of those currently working in the mass media in Russia were Soviet educated or employed by the Soviet media, where propaganda and counter-propaganda were considered an important part of state ideology.

Further information 

Global Europe

Richard Youngs (Ed)

British Council Brussels

May 2005

Download Global Europe 2: New Terms of Engagement (210 kilobyte PDF)

Short-term objectives like persuading Iran to give up its nuclear programme are distracting the EU from developing a coherent strategy of engagement with its new neighbours, according to the latest Global Europe report published by the Foreign Policy Centre and British Council Brussels.

Global Europe Report 02: New Terms of Engagement, by Richard Youngs (ed.) argues that, post-enlargement, the old model of EU engagement with the near abroad through the promise of accession is no longer viable. Although this is 'without a doubt the most successful policy instrument the EU has', Europe must develop a new strategy to promote democratic reform in countries ranging from Belarus and Moldova to Morocco and the Palestinian Authority – or risk overstretch.

Further information 

Philip Fiske de Gouveia, Philip Fiske de Gouveia

May 2005

Download the report (150 kilobyte PDF)

A new momentum is building behind development efforts in Africa. The work of the UK Commission for Africa, for example, appears to be symptomatic of a renewed global interest in the world's poorest continent. Historically, the media has played a fundamental role in democratisation and economic growth across the world, yet its significance is routinely downplayed by development strategists.

In 'An African Al-Jazeera? Mass Media and the African Renaissance', Philip Fiske de Gouveia examines how the media can facilitate much needed change across the African continent, and outlines a number of UK-specific policy recommendations. The report addresses a variety of key questions including: What role can and should the media play as part of political and economic advances in Africa? Can and should Africa shrug off its perceived information dependence on the West? Should the creation of an indigenous pan-African broadcaster be a development priority?

Further information 

Global Europe

Malcolm Chalmers, Michael von der Schulenburg, Julian Braithwaite

April 2005

Download the report (280 kilobyte PDF)

Rescuing the State: Europe's Next Challenge is the latest in the Global Europe series of reports from British Council Brussels and the Foreign Policy Centre, and sets forward strategies for improving the effectiveness of European state-building operations.

The turning of fragile amd failed states into strong and stable ones is perhaps the most difficult security challenge of our time. The essays make the case that Europe must take the lead in improving the effectiveness of post-conflict reconstruction, to maximise its international influence and carve out a distinctive world role.

Further information 

Yongjin Zhang

April 2005

Download China Goes Global (310 kilobyte PDF)

In China Goes Global, Yongjin Zhang looks at how engagement with globalisation is changing the Chinese state – and how China in turn is affecting the global economy. He argues that China's astronomical growth figures have obscured its transformative effects.

Accession to the WTO has led to a massive increase in trade – but also to a growing commitment to free trade and the global economic system

Chinese companies are 'going global', acquiring energy assets, listing in international stock markets and becoming serious global investors

As 'the world's factory', China is now shaping the changing dynamics of global supply and demand; and leading the wider shift towards a truly globalised economy.

Further information 

Angie Austin

April 2005

Download Energy and Power in China (310 kilobyte PDF)

The USA, EU and Britain have all recognised that domestic regulation of China's growing energy use and power industries constitute a 'global good', but the EU and Britain only recently instituted bilateral programs for promoting more efficient energy use by China through support of better domestic regularoty regimes.

This pamphlet urges the EU and Britain to urgently adjust their priorities for development cooperation with China in order to devote significantly more resources to the promotion of more effective regulation in China's energy sector.

Further information 

Dr Greg Austin

April 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download China Arms Ban (260 kilobyte PDF)

The European decision to lift the 1989 arms embargo targeted exclusively against China has encountered strong resistance from the US, particularly the Congress, and other allies including Japan. This new report from the Foreign Policy Centre argues that the dispute is damaging and unnecessary, and the result of a failure in European public diplomacy rather than a serious transatlantic policy disagreement. The lifting of the embargo will not change the military balance in East Asia nor affect the Chinese calculus of risk over the use of force against Taiwan; it is also ineffective as a mechanism to compel China's leadership to improve its domestic human rights policies.

As a result, the move has emerged as a test of Europe's new security policy, and of its ability to communicate decisions to key allies and stakeholders. European leaders must take their case to US Congress leaders through a vigorous public diplomacy campaign, to convince them that the EU will continue to restrict arms to China effectively even after the 1989 ban is lifted.

Further information 

Andrei Kunov, Mikhail Myagkov, Alexei Sitnikov, Dmitry Shakin

April 2005

Download the report (240 kilobyte PDF)

The 2003 Duma elections saw an overwhelming victory for President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and drastic defeat for other political parties. Opposition calls for a recount went nowhere and many puzzles about voting trends in Russia went unanswered. This pamphlet presents the results of ground-breaking research from the Open Economy Institute in Moscow, using a new statistial method for understanding the flow of votes and electorate support between political parties. The authors find that the Russian electorate was far less predictable in the last cycle than in the first decade of modern Russian democracy; and argue that the prospects for an effective multi-party system are now bleak.

Further information 

Sir Digby Jones (with preface by Rt Hon Dr Denis MacShane MP)

April 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the publication (190 kilobyte PDF)

Half of all UK legislation which imposes burdens on businesses originates from the European Union. Yet, given the depth of involvement of the EU in the UK's regulatory regime, the British public are surprisingly ignorant about the EU, its policies and institutions - and many MPs do not follow events across the Channel. In this pamphlet, Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the CBI, sets out a number of proposals for improving scrutiny of EU legislation in the UK parliament.

Richard Gowan, Laura Citron

Download Spanish translation of the European Civic Inclusion Index (360 kilobyte PDF)

The European Civic Citizenship and Inclusion Index has been conceived to fill a knowledge gap on civic citizenship policies and inclusion at a European level.

Richard Gowan, Laura Citron

2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download the report (1.05 megabyte PDF)

The need for immigrant inclusion in Europe is unavoidable. 13 million EU residents in the fifteen old member states (3.4% of the population) are non naturalized immigrants. Globalization, labour market and demograhic pressures make inward migration a fact of life for the EU member states. If Europe is to meet its Lisbon targets on employment and jobs, maintain cohesive healthy societies and live up to its founding values of equality and openness then it must take a close look at its policies governing inclusion and civic citizenship.

Further information 

Mark Leonard, Andrew Small with Martin Rose

February 2005

Download the report (360 kilobyte PDF)

The war in Iraq has had a seismic impact on international perceptions of Britain and British foreign policy, yet there is a big contrast between the cacophony of debate in the United States on the political and diplomatic fall-out of Iraq for US grand strategy, and the relative lack of public and political debate about how UK public diplomacy needs to change to reflect these new realities.

Further information 

Greg Austin, Ken Berry

February 2005 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the report (280 kilobyte PDF)

The United Nations does not just need reform, it is in need of a 'Reformation'. The composition of the Security Council is just one structural question among many other deeper issues. The scope of change needed can only be understood with reference to the massive changes in international power relationships of the past sixty years.

Further information 

Jennifer Moll

March 2005

Download the report (260 kilobyte PDF)

Europe has long desired a Russia that is both stable and governed by a democratic rule of law. It is for this reason that human rights remain a cornerstone of European policy toward Russia, especially in the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Russia's membership in these organisations not only confirms it as a full partner of Europe, but also as a state which shares its values.

The benchmarks for protection of human rights established by the Council of Europe and the OSCE stand in marked contrast to the current situation in Russia, where the vertical of power of the government increasingly leaves less room for the individual in favour of a more powerful central state - what President Putin calls a 'dictatorship of the law'.

Further information 

Sir Brian Crowe (with preface by Javier Solana)

2005

Download the report (220 kilobyte PDF)

The creation of an EU Foreign Minister is one of the most innovative proposals of Europe's proposed new constitution; yet there is still very little understanding of what the position woiuld entail and what challenges the new minister would face.

In this paper, Sir Brian Crowe, former Director General for External and for Politico-Military Affairs in the EU Council of Ministers, argues that empowering a new EU Foreign Minister is crucial for putting flesh on the bones of the Common Foreign and security Policy (CFSP). Fundamental changes are needed if the EU is to develop the capability for coordinated, effective, and rapid reaction.

Further information 

Correlli Barnett

2005

Download the report (200 kilobyte PDF)

Correlli Barnett, the distinguished military historian, contrasts the success of the Allied military government in Germany in 1945-6 with the relative failure of the Coalition in Iraq in 2003-4.

Further information 

An interpretative report by Rouzbeh Pirouz, Zoe Nautre

2005

Download the report (250 kilobyte PDF)

In October 2004, the Civility Programme at the Foreign Policy Centre held a three day retreat at Ditchley Park to elucidate the views of selected Iraqi civil society representatives on the re-establishment of security, the rule of law and institutional reform.

Further information 

Prasenjit K. Basu, Brahma Chellaney, Parag Khanna, Sunil Khilani

2005

Download the report (440 kilobyte PDF)

In 30 years India's economy could be larger than all but those of the US and China. In this collection of essays, with a preface by the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Kamalesh Sharma, four leading thinkers on India explore how it can carve out a world role that best serves its goals and interests.

Further information 

Preface by Andrew Jack, Analysis by Konstantin Sonin, Interview with Andrei Illarionov

January 2005

Download the report (230 kilobyte PDF)

After giving a controversial interview on Ekho Moskvy Radio on 30 December 2004, Andrei Illarionov, a former economic advisor to President Putin, stepped down from his post. He had previously issued public criticisms of Putin's reforms.

The interview with Illarionov is reproduced in this pamphlet, with a preface by Andrew Jack, recently returned Moscow correspondent for The Financial Times, and analysis by Konstantin Sonin.

Further information 

Espen Barth Eide (Ed.)

December 2004

Download the report (310 kilobyte PDF)

In the wake of the report of the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the contributors call on European leaders to promote regional solutions to international security threats such as terrorism, genocide or proliferation. They should also set up "a NATO for Africa" to work with the African Union on crises such as Darfur without the charge of colonialism.

This pamphlet is part of the Global Europe project launched by the Foreign Policy Centre and British Council Brussels, and supported by the European Commission.

The collection of essays is edited by Espen Barth Eide of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) argues that Europe's regional leadership is key to strengthening global security.

Further information 

Richard Youngs

December 2004

Download the report (190 kilobyte PDF)

Despite a common interest in promoting democracy in the Middle East, the US and EU have so far failed to create a coherent partnership in the region. In this pamphlet, Dr. Richard Youngs maps out a strategy for improving transatlantic cooperation on this vital issue.

Rouzbeh Pirouz

December 2004

Download the report (130 kilobyte PDF)

This Policy Brief for Iraq outlines recommendations for improving security and building a secure democracy, as agreed by high-level delegates at the FPC's retreat on Iraq in October 2004. Participants, who included Iraqi lawyers, journalists, heads of NGOs and women's groups and two ministers of the Interim government, identified ending ethnically divisive policies and encouraging EU involvement as urgent priorities.

Edited by Phoebe Griffith, Jack Thurston

November 2004

Download the report (860 kilobyte PDF)

Free trade has the potential to change lives in both developed and developing countries and lies at the heart of the globalisation debate. Yet it continues to be one of the most politically charged issues of the 21st century, while an international consensus remains elusive.

Further information 

Richard Youngs

November 2004

Download the report (210 kilobyte PDF)

Despite the promise of a new common strategy on Iraqi reconstruction in the summer of 2004, a concrete European action plan remains conspicuously absent. In this pamphlet, published during the assault on Fallujah, Richard Youngs argues that the time is right to build on the European agreement and identifies specific areas where EU assistance would be particularly valuable. They include training police and security forces and cooperating with local Iraqi groups to mediate with and disarm insurgents, and build democratic institutions at the sub-national level.

Dr Greg Austin

November 2004

Download the report (250 kilobyte PDF)

Written by FPC Research Director, Dr Greg Austin, with a foreword by Robin Cook MP, this pamphlet argues that a worrying shift towards authoritarianism has occurred in Russia in recent years. Britain and the EU must use their leverage to reverse the attacks made on hard-won democratic freedoms and renew the democratic dialogue with Russia.

• To View a full list of Dr Austin's publications click here

Malcolm Cook

November 2004

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South-East Asian expert Dr Malcolm Cook argues that Indonesia is at a turning point of democratisation. In this policy brief he makes the case that new president Susilo Yudhoyono must receive the full backing of the international community, including the UK and EU, to implement vital reforms and secure Indonesia's status as a model for Islamic democracy.

Amitai Etzioni

October 2004

Download the report (290 kilobyte PDF)

Leading communitarian author, Amitai Etzioni, argues for a shift in international counter-terrorism resources toward more focus on preventing attacks with nuclear weapons. The best way to do this, he argues, is to limit greatly the damage that terrorists will cause by curbing their access to nuclear arms and related materials.

Fiona Hill

September 2004

Download the report (380 kilobyte PDF)

On the back of windfall revenues from oil and gas exports, Russia has transformed itself from a defunct military superpower into a new energy superpower. Instead of the Red Army, the penetrating forces of Moscow's power in Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia are now its exports of natural gas, electricity, cultural products and consumer goods.

David Mathieson

September 2004

Download the report (220 kilobyte PDF)

In this new Foreign Policy Centre publication, David Mathieson argues that the two Prime Ministers urgently need to strengthen their relationship. Though relations between their respective parties were strained by the war over Iraq, and the warm relationship between Blair and Aznar, there is now real scope for cooperation between the two Prime Ministers.

Mark Gill, Simon Atkinson, Roger Mortimore

Commentary by Richard Gowan and Mark Leonard

September 2004

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The Foreign Policy Centre has published the results of the first poll to comprehensively gauge public opinion towards the European Constitution. It includes a detailed analysis of the battleground groups that will need to be won over.

Further information 

"An excellent publication… serves as a real wake-up call" Lord Simon of Highbury

Dr Greg Austin, Ben Koppelman

July 2004

Download the report (490 kilobyte PDF)

The unfolding of the Darfur crisis since January 2003 shows that the United Nations, the USA, the UK and the EU have not lived up to their promises for more effective conflict prevention or their obligations to monitor, prevent and punish the crime of genocide. The lessons of failure to prevent the Rwanda genocide have not been fully institutionalised. This paper lays out the sort of measures that need to be taken in such cases and that could have been taken much earlier in the Darfur case. Policy must focus on the perpetrators. The start point has to be measures personally targeted against them. Early measures for preventing imminent genocide must also include contingency planning for multinational military intervention as a means of bolstering diplomatic pressure.

• To view a full list of Dr Austin's publications click here

John J. Audley, Hans Anker

German Marshall Fund

2004

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The Foreign Policy Centre were partners in the German Marshall Fund's report examining attitudes towards trade, globalisation and development in France, Germany, the US and the UK.

• German Marshall Fund
• Click here for the article

Richard C. Eichenberg, Richard J. Stoll

July 2004

Download the report (370 kilobyte PDF)

The Political Fortunes of War provides a preliminary quantative assessment of just how much the Iraq war may be costing President Bush his bid for re-election. It sets out a correlation between a President's approval ratings and his chances of winning re-election, based on data from every President since Roosevelt.

Authors Professor Richard C Eichenberg and Richard J Stoll argue that President Bush's ratings have declined by just over one per cent for every 100 deaths of American service personnel. Using this estimate, the war may have cost the President over 10 per cent in his job approval ratings. They argue that without the war effect, Bush would be comfortably heading towards re-election. However, a continuation of the status quo – in which there is a daily death toll of several soldiers – is placing his continued tenure of the White House in increasing doubt.

• Supplementary material

Istanbul Paper 1

Daimler Chrysler, GMF, Parex Banka

July 2004

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A report by the German Marshall Fund and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation. Authors include: Urban Ahlin, Member of the Swedish Parliament, Mensur Akgün, Turkish Economic and Social Science Studies Foundation,Gustavo de Aristegui, Member of the Spanish Parliament, Ronald D. Asmus, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Daniel Byman, Georgetown University, Larry Diamond,Hoover Institution, Steven Everts, Centre for European Reform, Ralf Fücks,Heinrich Böll Foundation, Iris Glosemeyer, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Jana Hybaskova, Czech Member of the European Parliament, Thorsten Klassen, The German Marshall Fund of the United States, Mark Leonard, Foreign Policy Centre, Michael McFaul, Stanford University, Thomas O.Melia, Georgetown University, Michael Mertes, Dimap Consult, Joshua Muravchik, American Enterprise Institute, Kenneth M. Pollack, The Brookings Institution, Karen Volker, Office of Senator Joe Lieberman, Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House.

Joshua Cooper Ramo

March 2004

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The former Foreign Editor of Time magazine argues that there is a new "Beijing Consensus" emerging with distinct attitudes to politics, development and the global balance of power.

Further information 

Nicholas J. Wheeler, Tim Dunne

April 2004

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Moral Britannia? examines how far reality has matched the famous promise made by Robin Cook to formulate "a foreign policy with an ethical dimension" in the first weeks of the new government in 1997. The phrase came back to haunt Labour on issues as varied as arms sales to support for Bush in Iraq - and, according to authors Tim Dunne and Nicholas Wheeler, led to one of the great foreign policy debates since the 1930s.

It debunks some of the myths surrounding the issue, arguing that an "ethical foreign policy" can be pragmatic, doesn't necessarily involve the sacrifice of national interests, and isn't always as self-evident as critics suggest. Dunne and Wheeler's audit of Labour's record is broadly positive though it concludes that British involvement in the invasion of Iraq was not justifiable. Finally, Moral Britannia? sets out ten lessons to rescue the ethical foreign policy and re-establish relations with the rest of the world based on internationalist values and multilateralist institutions.

March 2004

Download the report (280 kilobyte PDF)

The Foreign Policy Centre's re-launched news letter with op-eds and vox-pops on outsourcing and the Indian elections, European Security Strategy and reform of the Middle East.

Richard Youngs, Zane Kanderian

March 2004

Download the report (230 kilobyte PDF)

New approaches are called for in the West's relations with the Middle East. Traditional alliances with authoritarian regimes in the Middle East are not working to protect and further Western interests. They are incapable of dealing with the contemporary security issues that the attacks of 9/11 pushed so painfully to the fore of international debate. Rather, policy must comprehend the provenance of discontent and of violence legitimised in religious terms by its perpetrators.

Civility aims to encourage the foreign policies of Western nations towards active and long-term support for the development of Middle Eastern civil society.

Richard Youngs

March 2004

Download the report (270 kilobyte PDF)

Historically, divisions between the EU member states have ensured that the Middle East has been a significant Achilles heel to European foreign policy cooperation as the conflict in Iraq has so clearly demonstrated. The proposals outlined in this publication are not only attainable but make a tangible contribution to current security preoccupations; ensure continued European relevance in a sphere now subject to increased US activity and provides a fillip to current efforts to fashion a more resonant European foreign policy identity.

This paper focuses on the role of the European Union (its member states individually and collectively, as well as the Brussels institutions), and offers 10 proposals that could inject greater clarity, dynamism and coherence into EU democracy promotion efforts in the Middle East.

"An interesting prospectus" Martin Woollacott – The Guardian

Mark Leonard, Richard Gowan

The British Council

February 2004

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In December 2003, the governments of the EU agreed a tough-worded European Security Strategy, emphasising the need to spread good governance and build more effective multilateralism. Although widely welcomed, this document will prove irrelevant if it is not put into practice through concrete policies to revitalise the UN and pressure authoritarian states. The Foreign Policy Centre is publishing the first major action-plan for achieving these goals are titled Global Europe: Making the European Security Strategy Work.

Rachel Briggs, Najibullah Habib

Control Risks Group, Demos, The Nuffield Trust

February 2004

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International travel is one of the clearest manifestations of globalisation at work. However, whilst the benefits of easier and cheaper access to more distant destinations are huge, travel does not come without risks. Conservative estimates indicate that between 30 and 50% of travellers become ill or injured while travelling, and a number of communicable diseases have been imported into the UK through the movement of people in recent years.

Healthy Travel shows that much more work needs to be done in order to better communicate the health risks inherent in international travel. While advocating the benefits of increasing mobility, it shows that there is a need for more effective and targeted strategies in order to get information to people. Healthy Travel is required reading not only for the travel health specialists but for the travel industry, travel advice providers, the medical profession and employers.

Edited by Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott

The British Council

December 2003

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Between December 2001 and July 2003, Europe's great and good were convened to find a way that the European Union could 'be brought closer to its citizens.'

These six essays outline a somewhat different picture of democracy in Europe to that of the Convention. They argue that the problem of democracy will not be solved by constitutional reform alone.

Successful European democracy will allow strong national and regional identities to be combined with the effective policies that European citizens demand. Citizens will feel that they have some kind of control over the whole set of issues that can no longer be dealt with by national governments working alone, and which are best dealt with in Brussels. These essays, written by a wide range of leading academics and practitioners from across Europe, abound with ideas about how this can be made to happen - with or without constitution.

Phoebe Griffith (Ed.)

Sciences Po, Nestle

September 2003

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In recent years the devastating impact of Western protectionism on the world's poorest countries has been publicised as never before. But whilst the issue has been raised in the public consciousness, progress at the negotiation table has remained blocked. The interests of the poorest countries have been subsumed in battles between large trading powers and the richest countries have proved unwilling to agree to reform out of fear that they will be overwhelmed by the more dynamic developing countries.

In this report a group of prominent trade experts (including Patrick Messerlin, Stephen Byers, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Chris Haskins, Harriet Lamb, Philippe Legrain, Herbert Obberhaensli and Jack Thurston) move beyond the blame game to set out the practicalities of reaching a deal that will be palatable to rich and poor countries alike.

"Rethinking Fair Trade is fantastic. It is a clean way of addressing the de facto two-tier system developing in the WTO" Bill Antholis, German Marshall Fund

Mark Leonard, Phoebe Griffith

British Council, Sciences Po

October 2003

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The European Inclusion Index will rank European member states' attempts to promote progressive citizenship and inclusion policies. The Index will assess the policies put in place to challenge discrimination, as well as the ability of migrants and ethnic minorities to participate actively in the social, political and economic lives of their host communities.

The Index aims to become an indispensable tool for campaigning organisations and advocacy groups; policymakers from member and accession states; the media and the general public.

Rachel Briggs

GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, Shell, Armor Group, Group4Falck, CRG

July 2003

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More British companies than ever before are reaping the rewards of investing in emerging markets. But September 11th and subsequent events remind us that these rewards can come at a price for workers, ranging from kidnapping and violent attacks to petty street crime and health problems. It is therefore alarming that the response of the business community has been patchy. Some companies were well prepared before September 11; others note a new interest from their boards; but there are still many that are doing little or nothing.

The pamphlet argues that this inconsistency is happening for three reasons. Firstly, there is a legal vacuum that encourages inertia and leaves even conscientious companies unsure of their responsibilities. Secondly, there is a lack of publicly available information on the impact of risks on companies and their staff and the most effective way of managing them. Thirdly, there is no mechanism for coordinating the work of the UK Government and business to ensure their collective effort is worth more than the sum of its parts.

Mark Leonard

June 2003

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The Foreign Policy Centre's roadmap for joining the Euro has been endorsed by leading pro-Europeans.

Nick Clegg, Michiel van Hulten

May 2003

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In this policy brief Nick Clegg and Michiel van Hulten combine a punchy analysis of the challenges facing the parliament with a detailed consideration what needs to be done to resolve them.

It starts from the premise that a credible European Parliament needs to focus less on far-reaching political ambitions and more on the nuts and bolts of its representative role in order to engage the public in political debates.

While its institutional powers and legislative authority have steadily increased, political credibility has lagged behind.

The challenge is clear: MEPs are at risk of wielding power and authority without adequate legitimacy and responsibility.

Phoebe Griffith (Ed), Marina Ottaway, Alex de Waal, Ezra Mbogori, Greg Mills, Ayisi Makatiani, Christoper Kolade

CDC Capital Partners

May 2003 Hard copy: £2.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

This powerful collection of essays by leading African thinkers and practitioners addresses the impact of Globalisation on the continent- from the explosion of NGO's and their impact on civil society to the use of information technology as a tool for development.

This fascinating study on Africa raises a challenge to current thinking on Africa: does Africa really need democracy in order to move 'forward'? Are Western NGOs in Africa doing more harm than good?

"Identifies and illuminates the key ways in which the rich world continues to hamper Africa's development" Richard Dowden, Royal Africa Society

Rachel Briggs

Group 4 Falck, CRG, Shell, HSBC, ArmorGroup, GlaxoSmithKline

May 2003

Download the report (220 kilobyte PDF)

Security never seems to be far from the headlines. For the rising number of British companies investing in emerging markets, insecurity is something they are keen to avoid. They must properly manage the security risks to their staff, from health problems and petty crime, to kidnapping and terrorist attack.

"An excellent example of government, business and civil society working successfully together" Mike O 'Brien, FCO Minister

Next Generation Democracy

Claes de Vreese

British Council & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

April 2003

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Democracy relies on communication between citizens and those in power. However, at the European level, too often the strategy is to focus on sending out pro-European messages, rather than presenting the EU as a political system with room for disagreement, discussion and debate. Unless the Convention takes account of how the newly constitutionalised EU links to its citizens via the media, it will produce solutions that fail to engage its stakeholders, and will reinforce the 'democratic deficit'. Based on a unique study of the broadcast media across the EU, de Vreese defines how the media actually covers European issues, and lays out some concrete recommendations about how the EU must change. The EU must redesign its communication strategies to take account of the methods broadcast journalists actually use to produce European stories; to use all the advantages the EU has to give the institutions a 'human face'; and to develop strong links between the European level of policymaking and the national media marketplaces.

Further information 

"Claes de Vreese, like the FPC, can see which side of history he's on. But he can also see history heading out the door" Peter Preston, the Guardian

World Order After Iraq

Andrew Tyrie MP

The Bow Group

March 2003

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Will Iraq mark the emergence of a US dominated new world order, or a step on the road to international anarchy? Andrew Tyrie provides a thoughtful, searching and powerful essay on Western foreign policy and the post-11 September re-ordering of the world.

The conservative position that he stakes out - that both the Bush and Blair foreign policy doctrines will not enhance but imperil our security, whatever the outcome of the crisis - is a persuasive one. The Foreign Policy Centre and the Bow Group are both delighted to open up these arguments for debate.

"Especially interesting at this moment of uncertainty about the future of the Middle East" Chris Patten

World Order after Iraq series

John Lloyd

February 2003

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What is the progressive case for intervention in Iraq? And what kind of world order should we be trying to build? John Lloyd provides a compelling argument against a conservative retreat to national sovereignty in search of stability, and sketches out the parameters of a re-ordered international society.

"Powerfully outlines the case for systematic intervention in totalitarian-terrorist and failed states" Donald Macintyre, The Independent

Mark Leonard, Conrad Smewing

The British Council

February 2003

Is it possible to better Britain's standing in the Arab World at a time of conflict and terror? Commissioned by the British Council, Public Diplomacy and the Middle East examines the implications of the re-ordering of a Middle East policy since 11 September for relationships with the Arab and Islamic world.

"The pamphlet is concise, well-written and presents a well argued case in favour of debate and cultural understanding." Pat Cox, the European Parliament.

Next Generation Democracy

Tom Arbuthnott

British Council & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

February 2003

Download the report (380 kilobyte PDF)

The accountability of national government has changed in the past twenty years. People's capacity to hold their governments to account has been complicated by the rise of new communications media, the rise of a 'permanent campaign' and the embedding of national government in a highly complex international system.

In this policy brief, Arbuthnott argues that Europe is a key part of the solution. Comparability is the new accountability in the EU. And the heightened capacity of the EU to allow people to make meaningful comparisons between their own governments' performance and others has subjected national politicians to an ever-higher degree of scrutiny.

"Full of excellent insights." Lord Howell of Guilford
"This is an important theme. Well done." Denis MacShane MP

Giles Radice

KPMG

February 2003 Hard copy: £9.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the report (420 kilobyte PDF)

In "How to join the Euro", prominent pro-European and former Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee Giles Radice examines the practical hurdles facing British entry: the Treasury's Five Economic tests, the criteria set out in the Maastricht treaty, the disciplines of the European Stability and Growth Pact, how to minimise the costs of changeover for Business and the thorny question of the UK's exchange rate.

Radice argues that a clear strategy is absolutely essential to reduce fears of the unknown during a referendum and make joining easier once a decision has been made. Without such a strategy, there is a danger that the decision about entry could be taken without sufficient forethought, or be botched altogether.

Read Lord Radice's introduction below

Further information 

Roger Mortimore, Simon Atkinson

Trade Unionists for Europe

January 2003

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Discussions of the euro battleground tend to focus on the 32% of the people who are implacably opposed and the 16% of people utterly in favour. These analyses miss out, though, on the most important group: the 45% of people who confess to not having made up their minds on the euro.

'Who are the Euro Waverers' profiles these swing voters. Based on specially commissioned polling data, the report analyses their common characteristics. Do they have a mortgage? Have they used the euro? Which newspapers do they read? How politically active are they? How highly do they rate Tony Blair? Above all, perhaps, will they actually turn out to vote?

Please read the foreword by Mark Leonard below.

Further information 

Autumn 2002

Download the report (730 kilobyte PDF)

The latest issue of Global Thinking contains a letter debate between Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and Tom Nairn, on the subject, 'Is Devolution bad for Black and Asian Britons?'; an exclusive interview with the editor of the Economist, Bill Emmott; Mark Leonard on Public Diplomacy in a more dangerous world; and all the usual news and reviews. Read it online now!

Niels Christiansen, Justin Forsyth, Sally Keeble MP, H.E. Prof George Kirya

Nestle

November 2002

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The Foreign Policy Centre took stock of this year's eventful debate about Africa's future with the 2002 Labour Party Conference Fringe Event: 'Africa - is the West just walking by?'

Many have claimed that the consolidation of the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), the launch of the African Union and the commitment to the Millennium Development Goals are setting the path for a new beginning on the continent. But the West's engagement with these initiatives has been mixed, ranging from the Tony Blair's stirring description of Africa as a 'scar on the conscience of the West' to the G8's lukewarm response to the proposals put forward by African leaders themselves.

The event was a rare opportunity for a free and open debate among those who can make a difference.

Next Generation Democracy

Mats Engstrom

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

November 2002

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Without open and common political arena, confidence in European institutions will remain low, no matter how they are designed. This pamphlet examines how digital technologies such as the internet can help develop European political spaces. It includes twenty concrete proposals for action.

There is a choice to be made. One way is open dialogue in electronic commons. Another possibility is a division of citizens in privately-owned networks where entertainment and scandal are the main elements of politics, and only an elite use the new technology to influence decisions. A political strategy is urgently needed to make digital technologies contribute to a more democratic Europe.

European Rural Communities Paper 3

Chris Haskins

RSPB, Tesco

November 2002

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The farming community in Europe has had a very tough few years, especially in the UK. The natural reaction is to keep firm hold of what they do have, especially in the form of subsidies. It is not surprising that many people view moves to reform the CAP with suspicion.

But there is no reason that farming could not have a viable and successful future in Europe. All the key attributes are there, from farmers' resourcefulness, to the rapidity of technological change, through to the fact that a reformed CAP will still reward farmers who deserve support.

This essay argues that, whatever happens in the protracted negotiations about the CAP, farming can flourish in Western Europe. It may require a change of mindset from farmers - and they may have to be entrepreneurial in their approach to markets. But the farming community should not resist change just because it is change.

European Rural Communities Paper 2

Vicki Swales

RSPB, Tesco

October 2002

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As the European Union stands on the brink of enlargement eastwards, the need for a rural policy that can deliver economic prosperity, social progress and environmental protection has never been clearer. But, the inability of the current major rural policy - the CAP - to deliver these objectives has never been more apparent, even though it commands over half of the EU's total budget.

This report explores what progress has been made to date in establishing a new architecture for the CAP - the so-called Second Pillar of the CAP. It asks whether this policy instrument, on which so much hope is rested, is really up to the job and makes clear recommendations for future policy reform.

European Rural Communities Paper 1

Jack Thurston with an introduction by Chris Haskins

RSPB, Tesco

September 2002

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The Common Agricultural Policy has come to represent all the failings for which the European Union is criticised. It's bureaucratic, expensive, wasteful, undemocratic, open to fraud and stubbornly resistant to change. CAP reform holds the key to enlargement of the EU and a successful round of WTO negotiations. With radical proposals now on the agenda in Brussels, the time for reform has never been better.

For years European policy circles have been debating alternative ways of supporting farming and rural areas, and a model for reform is clear. The question is how to get there.

Further information 

Rachel Briggs (Ed.)

BAe Systems, Control Risks Group and the RSMF

November 2002

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This collection of essays shows how sound preparation can both reduce the impact of successful terrorists attacks and enable UK plc to get back on its feet as quickly as possible after an incident.

It includes pieces from David Veness of the Metropolitan Police; Control Risks Group; other business security and terrorist experts; and Richard Sambrook of the BBC. This collection is kindly supported by BAe Systems, Control Risks Group and the RSMF.

To read a copy of the report from the launch event, please see 'Previous Events'.

Edited by Phoebe Griffith, Mark Leonard

Development Education Association and the British Council

September 2002

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In Reclaiming Britishness, leading politicians, thinkers and practioners explore how a modern, inclusive and outward-looking British identity can guide us through difficult policy choices. They take stock of where the heady talk of a reborn British identity has got to in the wake of the 11 September attacks and the riots of Summer 2001. And they suggest practical ways to connect with those who feel excluded from the traditional symbols of British identity.

"'A collection of provocative, timely and helpful essays on the state (and limitations) of the Britishness debate'" Linda Colley

Rachel Briggs

Thomas Cook Tour Operations

August 2002

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This report addresses the travel advice sector in the UK. A growing number of Britons are getting into trouble abroad and British Consulates are often left to pick up the pieces when things go wrong. As overseas travel continues to increase, the number of Britons imprisoned, hospitalized or assaulted abroad looks set to continue its upward trend.

Many of these problems could be avoided if relevant travel advice was read prior to departure, but there seems to be complacency and confusion among the main groups of travellers about whether they are at risk and whether it is their own responsibility to seek out advice. Research shows that only a tiny proportion travellers are aware of the risks they face.

Travel Advice calls for partnership between the UK government, the travel industry, companies, and the charity sector to ensure targeted advice gets to the people who need it.

Please read the introduction below.

Further information 

Adam Lury, Simon Gibson

The Foreign Policy Centre, Liverpool John Moores University

June 2002

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Need to Know is a book of fiction that attempts to make sense of open-ended and complex policy issues in a non-linear way. The rationale of the project is that through stories people can better engage with, and think through, complex policy issues. By using a narrative framework the aim is to make foreign policy debates more accessible to a wider audience and to illustrate the relevance of foreign policy to our everyday lives.

Need to Know is a reflection of The Foreign Policy Centre's commitment to challenge the traditional forms that think tanks have used to explore policy. Unlike traditional policy reports which focus on giving recommendations, Need to Know demonstrates the ambiguous consequences of many policy challenges in practice. Need to Know was published jointly with Liverpool John Moores University.

Mark Leonard, with Catherine Stead, Conrad Smewing

The British Council, BBC World Service, Norway-UK

June 2002 Hard copy: £4.95, plus £1 p+p. Buy it on CentralBooks.co.uk

Download the report (550 kilobyte PDF)

In the world of al-Jazeera, global protest and mass democracy, building relationships with overseas publics can be as important as talking to governments. Whether countries build an international coalition against al-Qaida, reform the Common Agricultural Policy, or attract inward investment, influencing public opinion abroad will be crucial.

What should our strategy for success be in this global competition for exports, tourism, investment and political influence? How can governments harness the power of NGOs, brands, diasporas and political parties to project a modern image? What lessons emerged from public diplomacy after September 11? The report sets out a practical agenda for public diplomacy which draws on fieldwork in six countries, hundreds of interviews with practitioners, and contributions from the experts in academia and communications - from Harvard academic Joseph Nye to Downing Street spokesman Alistair Campbell.

"First-rate. An extraordinarily important book to make the case for public policy that recognizes the role of soft power" Joseph Nye
"both timely and important" Tom Buchanan
"A remarkable and useful piece of work….segues into what the Foreign Office is trying to do." Denis MacShane MP

Next Generation Democracy

Mark Leonard, Jonathan White

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

June 2002

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The European Union is underperforming in too many areas. Both pro-Europeans and eurosceptics argue that the EU's institutions are unloved because they are unelected and remote. In this policy brief Mark Leonard and Jonathan White take a different view: the problem, they argue, is a delivery deficit. Instead of relying on federal theories to decide where power should lie, the authors suggest that policy-makers embrace the principle of Earning the Right to Act where powers are allocated according to performance - moving up and down from a national to a European level to achieve specific objectives. They argue that EU institutions must earn their powers by proving their ability to execute them effectively. Ultimately this is the only EU that can count on the sympathy of its citizens.

"The report provides a robustly pro-European critique of where the EU is failing the delivery test" The Observer

Mark Leonard (Ed.)

March 2002

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This collection begins with Tony Blair's call for a project to re-order the post-September 11th world. It brings together thoughtful essays and agenda-setting proposals from international statesmen and some of the most creative thinkers in international affairs. Contributors include Robert Cooper, Ehud Barak, Amartya Sen, Joseph Nye and Jack Straw. The essays show how a project to create a world order based on universal values will benefit developing as much as developed nations; how our growing interdependence is forcing us to question many of our assumptions about security; and how we will need to develop new institutions to give globalisation legitimacy.

See also Robert Cooper's pamphlet The Postmodern State and The World Order in Past Reports

"Caused a storm" The Observer

Rowena Young

Globalegacy

March 2002

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This important new report is a fresh voice in the stale debate over drug policy. It claims that the 'war on drugs' has failed because it only tackles the symptoms of drug addiction and drug related crime, and doesn't deal with the poverty and marginalization which are at its root. Taking lessons from drug rehabilitation projects in South East Asia, it suggests training, work and social enterprise combined with treatment, as the best long-term ways to help addicts.

Further information 

"This report will spark major debate" The Observer
"Should be actively debated in Whitehall and Parliament" Voice of the Mirror (The Mirror)

Next Generation Democracy

Simon Hix

The British Council and Weber Shandwick Adamson

February 2002

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National Parliaments are among the most legitimate bodies in the European Union: they engage constituents with political debate and set the agenda for national political discussion. Simon Hix suggests opening up a European space for debates within national Parliaments by giving them a significant role in electing the Commission president.

Dick Leonard, Mark Leonard (ed.)

January 2002

This definitive guide to the case for Europe brings together a unique collection of political, cultural and social arguments for closer European integration and full and whole-hearted British participation in the European Union. Contributions range from political and historical debate, to consideration of the impact of Europe on our everyday lives. Influential figures quoted include Winston Churchill speaking on a United States of Europe in 1946, Mikhail Gorbachev on 'The Common European Home', Anthony Giddens' discussion of 'A Third Way for the European Union', and Milan Kundera on 'Europe and the Novel'.

"Packed full of wisdom and vision. Here's a book full of cures for prejudice and phobia" Neil Kinnock

Simon Zadek

In collaboration with AccountAbility, Diageo and Friends Ivo

December 2001

Download the report (370 kilobyte PDF)

Simon Zadek, guru of Corporate Social Responsibility, published a report on Corporates in Global Society in December. The report defines the next stage of the corporate citizenship debate, and what it means for the global governance regimes of the future.

An article by Simon Zadek based on the pamphlet can be found in The Foreign Policy Centre Writes

Further information 

Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott (ed.)

KPMG and Adamson BSMG Worldwide

September 2001

'Winning the euro referendum' is the most detailed analysis yet of public opinion and the Euro. A host of experts probe the true state of public opinion, draw lessons from other referendums across the EU and work out what arguments work with different sectors of society.

Contributors include:

Simon Atkinson, Chris Powell, Chris Haskins,

Chris Huhne, Mike Rake, Mark Leonard,

Clare Rayner, David Seymour, Paul Whiteley, John Curtice, Mads Qvortrup, Tom Arbuthnott.

Click below for extract by Chris Powell

Further information 

"The most comprehensive study of polling evidence on the issue to date" Paul Waugh, The Independent
"The most detailed blueprint to date on ways and means of winning the euro referendum" Matthew d'Ancona, The Sunday Telegraph

Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott

British Council Brussels & Weber Shandwick Public Affairs

2001

Download the report (810 kilobyte PDF)

This is the framework document for the Next Generation Democracy project. The democratic deficit is the biggest problem facing Europe today. But we will not solve it if we treat it as a 'European' problem. It is time to turn the debate on democracy in Europe on its head.

2001

Need to Know is an experiment the Foreign Policy Centre worked on with Adam Lury and Simon Gibson. These two ex-advertising executives have a novel exploring complicated foreign policy issues through storytelling rather than traditional analysis. The result is a gripping story that can both reach a wide range of audiences and provoke lively debate, touching on issues as diverse as the role of the media, the Foreign Office and the Internet in the future of foreign policy.

2001

Download the report (70 kilobyte PDF)

As part of the research project 'Corporate Personnel Security in Emerging Markets', Graham Rodmell of Transparency International (UK) and John Bray of Control Risks Group spoke on the subject of why corporate security managers should be interested in corruption, showing how they can be part of the solution on the ground.

Sacha Chan Kam, Phoebe Griffith, Mark Leonard

2001

Download the report (80 kilobyte PDF)

This report reinvigorates the debate about immigration by also looking at integration. It analyses the costs and benefits of integration and explores features of best practice from countries with established integration strategies. It also maps out a compact for immigration that focuses on the rights and responsibilities for both migrants and hosts and develops a set of indicators for measuring integration and a policy tool-kit for the different elements of the process.

Mark Leonard, Tom Arbuthnott, Jiri Sedivy, Peter Drulak

September 2001

Download the report (240 kilobyte PDF)

Produced jointly with the Czech Institute of International Relations, this pamphlet examines the future of the EU and calls for a rethinking of the European political space.

This pamphlet formed the backdrop to a top level conference attended by senior political figures including the Czech Deputy Prime Minister, which was held at Prague Castle on 6-8 September 2001.

Sponsored by Tesco

Lord Haskins

July 2001

On 17 July, a working paper was launched, on which a new nine-month research project into reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will be based.

Lord Haskins, Chairman of Northern Foods and Head of the Better Regulation Taskforce in the Cabinet Office, will lead the project. It will take evidence from European experts across the political spectrum including former Irish Taioseach John Bruton and former British Environment Secretary John Gummer.

Haskins argues that there is a unique opportunity for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy with the Post-Nice agenda and the mid-term evaluation of the Agenda 2000 proposals that will take place next year. He claims that a series of crises in European farming has convinced policy-makers, farmers and the general public that reform is a priority. At the same time the cost of defending the status quo is also becoming increasingly clear - the CAP is blocking a further round of World Trade Liberalisation that would benefit other sectors of European Business. The project will outline how to move from a system of automatic production subsidies to one in which farmers earn payments depending on the impact of their activities on the environment.

Rachel Briggs

March 2001

Download the report (170 kilobyte PDF)

The nature of kidnapping is changing: an important political tool is now a sophisticated business and the gap left by policy-makers has been filled by kidnap and ransom insurance. This project assesses these new trends and works towards a new integrated policy response. This project is supported by Hiscox, Control Risks Group, ASM, SCR and J&H Marsh and McLennan.

Policy Brief, No 2. Europe and the Bush

Malcolm Chalmers

2000

Download the report (140 kilobyte PDF)

In this Policy Brief marking the inauguration of President Bush, Professor Malcolm Chalmers argues that Europeans can best promote US international engagement by themselves meeting more of the costs of international security. The report examines claims of 'free-riding' by providing the facts across burden-sharing regimes - from the US's unparalleled military might to Europe's contributions to peacekeeping, development aid, multilateral institutions and tackling global warming. Chalmers argues that Europe should seek to reshape the transatlantic debate by focusing less on US shortcomings and more on meeting its own responsibilities. He sets out the constructive European agenda which - through concrete reform on European security, multilateral reform and development - could reshape the transatlantic debate and create a more effective division of international labour.

[The full text is online here]

Sponsored by BSMG Worldwide

Mark Leonard (ed.)

November 2000

Europe's future is being debated as never before. Enlargement, the 'democratic deficit', new security challenges and a changing global economy all mean that the EU must reform. This collection provides the definitive guide to the new debate about the principles which should guide it.

Contributions to the debate from German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Premier Giuliano Amato, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh show that European governments are grappling with the central questions of European reform and legitimacy in a new way.

Leading thinkers including Anthony Giddens, Jan Zielonka, Alison Cottrell, Ben Hall and Mark Leonard look at what a new case for Europe will mean in practice - in economics, Europe's global role, institutional reform and democratisation.

This project was kindly supported by BSMG Worldwide

"Its essence is the patriotic and pragmatic case for being both pro-European and pro reform in Europe" Peter Mandelson
"The Europe of Nice is a building site waiting for new master builders."

Sunder Katwala

16 September 2000

Global sport has never been bigger. But a host of sporting scandals - from Olympic bidding scandals to cricket corruption, 'bungs' in football to drugs in the tour de France - have shaken major sports to their foundations. Sport is now a major global industry, but can it handle the pressures of the age of accountability?

Sunder Katwala rejects the argument that big money is to blame for all of sport's ills and the idea that we must choose between sport's values and its commercial viability. Instead, Democratising Global Sport sets out a constructive new agenda for modernising sporting governance, and shows what this would mean in practice - in institutional reform, and on the issues from doping to match-fixing, TV rights to tournament hosting which have done most to damage sport's credibility.

"A timely contribution to the debate on the future of sport" Sir Paul Condon
"Excellent, timely and stimulating" George Walker, Council of Europe
"Does much to rectify the severe shortage of informed and challenging debate on contemporary issues of sport policy" Professor Barrie Houlihan, Loughborough

Michael Edwards

July 2000

Is the rise of the NGO movement a powerful democratising force or a damaging threat to political representation? NGO campaigns - from debt relief to land mines - have enjoyed unprecedented success. But since the battle of Seattle, NGO-bashing has become a favourite pastime - as government officials, business and the media question the right of 'armchair radicals' to speak for the world's poor. Michael Edwards argues that we need to move beyond the blame-game over the failures of international governance and work our what the new rules of the road are. His innovative reform proposals set out a reform agenda for NGO accountability and show how international organisations can become more effective and inclusive by channelling NGO energies democratically and to the genuine benefit of those excluded from global progress.

This project was supported by NCVO

"Compelling and succinct" Peter Hain, Minister of State, FCO
"Timely and thought-provoking … balanced, objective and written with great sense and flashes of humour" David Bryer, Director, Oxfam
"A smart and insightful account of the changing role of NGOs … a series of excellent policy recommendations" David Held, LSE

Robert Cooper

June 2000

The whole world changed in 1989, but few have yet understood just how much. In this path-breaking essay, Robert Cooper sets out a radical new interpretation of the shape of the world. He explains the post-Cold War world in terms of the divisions between 'pre-modern' parts of the world (such as Somalia or Liberia), 'modern' states such as Brazil or China, and the 'post-modern' areas of the world, where individualistic and post-industrial societies have superceded traditional nations of sovereignty. Europe, he argues, is the clearest example of post-modern order in which foreign and domestic policy are inextricably intertwined, tools of governance are shared and security is no longer based on control over territory or the balance of power.

This essay has become required reading for anyone who needs to understand international relations. The second edition updates the original argument and offers new material on the role of democracy and religion in international politics. It is a crucial guide to conflicts and dilemmas of the twenty-first century.

Robert Cooper is Deputy Secretary of the Defence and Overseas Secretariat in the British Cabinet Office.

"Explains, lucidly and elegantly, how the emergence of the postmodern state has changed international relations" The New Statesman

Bodo Hombach

1 June 2000

Bodo Hombach had a major role in the reconstruction of leftist politics in Germany that led to the electoral victory of the Social Democratic Party in 1998. The history of German social democracy over the past two decades or so quite closely resembles that of the Labour Party in Britain and it isn't surprising that in The Politics of the New Centre the author makes considerable play with the changes initiated by New Labour in the UK.

Published by Polity Press

ISBN: 0745624618

"This book will help give form and substance to the debate about third way politics in the English-speaking world" Anthony Giddens, LSE

Mark Leonard, Vidhya Alakeson

May 2000

In an age of global communications, building links with overseas publics will matter as much to foreign policy as talking to governments. Whether Britain wants a lasting coalition for international action in Kosovo, the French to lift the beef ban or Russia to become a stable democracy, influencing people abroad must be central to our strategy. The usual diplomatic channels can't do this on their own. The Foreign Office must unleash the energy of 60 million budding ambassadors in Britain's schools, businesses, local authorities, political parties and communities to build deeper links across the world. Going Public shows how global transformations in security, sovereignty and economics mean that diplomats must deal with a new global society where power and influence depend as much on values and reputation as on military might. Going Public shows how Britain should fuse the strengths of traditional and public diplomacy to build the relationships we need to thrive in a globalised world.

The project was supported by the BBC World Service, The British Council, and the Design Council.

Further information 

"An important new pamphlet … argues that the old ideas of British diplomacy must change profoundly" Gavin Esler, The Scotsman
"Argues that diplomacy can no longer solely be pursued at government-to-government level" Financial Times
"Prime Minister Helen Clark said she would look at how the report's ideas can be applied to New Zealand" The Christchurch Press

Robert M. Worcester, Chairman, MORI International

June 2000

A heated media debate on whether Britain can ever be persuaded to join the Euro followed the publication Bob Worcester's pamphlet this June. Both the pro and anti-European camps responded to the battle cry in the news and comment pages. You can read some of the comment and reaction here.

Further information 

"Will rightly encourage the leader to take the plunge" Hugo Young, The Guardian
"The Worcester analysis of what decides referendums makes sense" Peter Riddell, The Times

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

May 2000

In this major publication, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown argues that we need to fundamentally rethink our approach to national identity, race and public culture. The old debate about multiculturalism cannot meet the challenge of reinventing identity and participation in a devolved Britain, a plural Europe and an increasingly interdependent world. We need to leave behind a debate which has too often engaged blacks, Asians and 'ethnic minorities' rather than whites as well. Yasmin shows how these discourses belong to a historical era which is now ending. She shows how we must create new ways of talking about who we are, and what this will mean in specific policy areas, if the coming battles over political culture and national identity are to have a progressive outcome.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown is Senior Researcher at The Foreign Policy Centre. She has a weekly column in The Independent, The Observer and many other newspapers. Yasmin also broadcasts regularly on Radio 4 and the World Service. Her most recent book is Who do we think we are? Imagining the new Britain. Her previous books include The Colour of Love, True Colours and her autobiography No Place Like Home .

This project was kindly supported by Lord Ashdown Charitable Settlement

Further information 

"Yasmin is brave, intelligent and always worth reading" Diane Abbott MP, New Statesman

Sponsored by BP-Amoco

John Lloyd

March 2000

Re-engaging Russia sets out a radical new approach for the west as Russia enters a new political era. John Lloyd shows why Russia's stalled reform process has failed to deliver, causing mutual hostility and led to increasing calls for disengagement in both Russia and the west.

He argues that the way forward is not to disengage, but to engage differently – with the west seeking to spread relations much more broadly beyond a small elite, with reform being Russian-led and with the EU playing a more proactive role than in the past. Re-engaging Russia does not underestimate the scale of the challenges but marks an important attempt to redefine the way that western countries seeks to promotes its values and engage with other societies.

John Lloyd is a former East European Editor and Moscow bureau chief of the Financial Times. A freelance writer in London, he writes for the Financial Times, The New York Times, Scotland on Sunday, Prospect and other magazines. John is a member of the advisory council of The Foreign Policy Centre.

This project was supported by BP Amoco

Further information 

"Thought-provoking, highly enjoyable, creative and timely" Keith Vaz MP, Former Minister for Europe
"Characteristically thoughtful and well-written pamphlet by this outstanding journalist and Russia-watcher" Prof Archie Brown, St Anthony's, Oxford

Wally Olins

October 1999

Companies and Countries are changing fast - and they are becoming more like each other.

As countries develop their 'national brands' to compete for investment, trade and tourism, mega-merged global companies are using nation-building techniques to achieve internal cohesion across cultures and are becoming ever more involved in providing public services like education and health.

As companies and countries each adopt techniques which have been second nature to the other, Wally Olins asks what these cross-cutting trends mean for the new balance of global power. He explains why global companies are de-emphasising nationality, but seeking popular legitimacy by 'talking soft' about their social impact and community involvement, while governments are increasingly talk about performance indicators and hard statistics.

Further information 

"a fascinating pamphlet" Peter Preston, The Guardian

Supported by the Royal Commonwealth Soc

Kate Ford, Sunder Katwala

November 1999

This major new report sets out the new reform agenda for a 21st Century Commonwealth. This final project report, launched in South Africa, builds on the Centre's influential report Making the Commonwealth Matter to look at how the Commonwealth can take forward the agenda of the Durban CHOGM to create a modern, effective and relevant organisation which can help its members to thrive in the 21st century. Read the Introduction to the report below.

This project was supported by the Royal Commonwealth Society

Further information 

"Intelligent and forward-looking" The Times, editorial, 12 November 1999
"[The Centre's report has] very strong merits. Its proposals deserve honest enquiry" Business Day, South Africa
"My first thought was, 'Why has it taken 50 years to start this debate? Why aren't more developing countries leading it?" Sharon Chetty, The Sowetan

Sponsored by Clifford Chance

Mark Leonard

September 1999

Download the report (70 kilobyte PDF)

Mark Leonard sets out a radical new agenda for European reform, arguing that pro-Europeans must reshape the European debate if Europe is to be both effective and popular. Instead of the traditional federalist reform agenda, the EU should learn from successful network models of business organisation and introduce elements of direct democracy to reconnect to its citizens.

This project was supported by Clifford Chance

Further information 

"A radical agenda for reform from the government's favourite foreign policy think-tank" Stephen Castle, Independent on Sunday
"A welcome contribution to the important debate about Europe's future" Rt Hon Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
"Extraordinarily stimulating" Jacques Delors

The Foreign Policy Centre

November 1999

Europe is more integrated and successful than it has ever been, but many of its citizens know very little about it and feel disconnected from its institutions. To feed into the debate about reconnecting the EU with its citizens, The Foreign Policy Centre has produced this Millennium Pledge, which it urges Heads of Government to sign. The pledge to the peoples of Europe is intended to tackle misconceptions about the EU, set out a bold vision for EU reform and action in the next century, define an agenda for the European Commission, and rebuild trust by pledging and timetabling concrete policies that will improve our everyday lives. The Millennium Pledge will be launched at a major conference on November 24th. Read the full text of the Millennium Pledge in Hot News.

This project was supported by Clifford Chance

Further information 

Policy Brief No. 1

Mark Leonard, Mariell Juhlin

September 2000

Pro-Europeans can't win on economics alone.

"Its the politics stupid" says this Foreign Policy Centre analysis of the Danish Euro campaign, published hours ahead of the "no" result. You can read the text of this Foreign Policy Centre briefing paper here. You can also read Mark Leonard's piece for The Guardian in The Foreign Policy Centre Writes on this site.

Further information 

"Argues that Britain's pro-Europeans would lose unless they win the political as well as the economic argument" Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
"The Danish result cannot be shrugged off by pro-Europeans, as The Foreign Policy Centre argued yesterday" Don MacIntyre, The Independent
"Draws several lessons from Denmark: the importance of public trust, timing, and an unconvincing economic argument" Peter Riddell, The Times

KEY CONCEPTS, Number One

David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt, Jonathan Perraton

April 1999

Globalization is the buzz-word of the age - but how many people understand it? In this much-needed concise and authoritative guide, globalization's leading theorists thrash out what it really means, and argue that we need to rethink politics to keep up with the changing shape of power. Globalization launches the Key Concepts series - holding all of the hidden assumptions behind foreign policy up to the light, and unpacking the key terms to find out what they really mean for policy-makers today.

Further information 

"An indispensable counterweight to optimists and pessimists alike" Will Hutton
"This is the agenda on which a new politics must be constructed and new alliances forged" Clare Short, Secretary of State, DFID

March 1999

When foreign policy affects everything in our lives - from the jobs we do to the food we eat - it is too important to be left to diplomats alone. The Mission Statement sets out the new way of thinking about foreign policy which will guide the Centre as it defines a new agenda to create policies which are ethical, inclusive and effective.

"Likely to be controversial with Mandarins and influential with Ministers" Financial Times