Could China be a partner for the West in managing the Ukraine crisis?
Talks between China and the US in Rome on 14 March 2022 ended inconclusively, dashing any tentative hopes for enlisting China in western efforts to end the war in Ukraine…
Articles, Briefings and Essays
The views expressed in the articles are those of each respective author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of the Foreign Policy Centre.
Amid Ukraine, keep watching Belarus. That might be Putin’s real sleight of hand
We are all rightly focused on massive Russian military build-ups around Ukraine. The most recent, and potentially most menacing, is in Belarus. Grabbing control of Belarus in the process makes…
Power-Sharing: Why is it still central in the efforts to end the wars in Syria and Yemen?
As the war in Syria heads into its second decade, the search for a comprehensive peace settlement remains elusive. This is not for want of trying. The United Nations, backed…
Does Russia want a new Berlin Wall?
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 it was a great victory for democracy. Experts purported the end of history and many anticipated that a linear progress away from authoritarianism…
Levelling up: Six key takeaways from the Basque experience of regional competitiveness and inclusive growth
Citing the Basque Country as an example of inclusive economic growth may, at first, seem to many rather a paradox. In the context of Spain’s model of devolution, the Basque…
A summit for democracy or building a bloc to counter China and Russia?
President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy took place virtually at the end of last week. Attended by a large number of nations whose leaders made a slew of welcome policy…
A ‘Force for Good’? – Executive Summary
The nature of conflict in the world is shifting, along with the challenges they present for the UK. The number of violent conflicts today is as high as at any…
A ‘Force for Good’? – Introduction
The foreign policy of the United Kingdom (UK) is undergoing a period of evolution and adaptation, responding to: a changing geopolitical context; a different set of relationships with allies and…
Cooperation and values at the heart of UK engagement on conflict
In the aftermath of the Cold War, the future trajectory of the world seemed assured. The political philosopher Francis Fukuyama even wrote an obituary of the past, proclaiming the end…
A ‘Force for Peace’? UK peacebuilding and peacemaking and FCACs
UK involvement in peacebuilding and peacemaking has taken steps forwards and backwards over the last ten years. We have a better understanding of conflict, its drivers and relationship to inclusive…