Description
Developed by the governments of May and Johnson, the Global Britain foreign policy represents an alternative to the European Union membership while helping manage the United Kingdom’s power decline. I argue that Global Britain focuses primarily on economic and trade engagement to maintain the country’s status in the international community while handling domestic contestation and crisis.
This paper explores how economic interests have influenced foreign policy decision-making after the referendum. The focus is on the country’s economic positioning through the intersection of trade policies as a foreign policy instrument, primarily in the Indo-Pacific region. Building on the literature of ideas on foreign policy and role theory, this research contributes to fulfilling the gap concerning the influence of the domestic economic setting on post-Brexit foreign policymaking.
The period between 2016 and 2023 is examined, developing a content analysis of foreign policy documents, government speeches and parliamentary interventions. I claim the economy was the main interest being considered in the debate on the future of the UK’s role in the world after leaving the EU. It is also argued that the post-Brexit Global Britain foreign policy was deeply shaped by the national economic interests and by the UK’s strategic positioning internationally.
