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TOMMIE SMITH AND JOHN CARLOS HONORED AT THE WHITE HOUSE

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Watch the mini series on Netflix.

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THE DEFINITION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM BY MICHELLE OBAMA

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Visit this website to discover more about the history of women's rights in the U.S.

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Curated Recommendation

offers a lively, revealing, and provocative overview of this important (and controversial) academic field. Offering an easily readable introduction to women's roles and contributions across time, Dr. Morris's work opens with a critical investigation of why women's history has been absent from school curricula--and why educators and political groups remain wary of bringing inclusive history into the social studies classroom even now. It concludes with a reminder that women, too, are divided by race, class, and nationality and acknowledges that there is no one-size-fits-all women's history but many different versions, each worthy of investigation and understanding.

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offers a lively, revealing, and provocative overview of this important (and controversial) academic field. Offering an easily readable introduction to women's roles and contributions across time, Dr. Morris's work opens with a critical investigation of why women's history has been absent from school curricula--and why educators and political groups remain wary of bringing inclusive history into the social studies classroom even now.

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Par Les Echos

1. Soft power

En relations internationales, l'expression anglaise " soft power " (littéralement, " puissance douce " en français), désigne la capacité d'influence et de persuasion d'une partie prenante, qu'il s'agisse d'un Etat, d'une société multinationale ou d'une ONG. Il s'agit d'amener d'autres acteurs à adopter un comportement souhaité ou à adhérer à des normes, sans que les autres n'aient l'impression d'y avoir été contraints. Le " soft power " d'un Etat repose sur son rayonnement culturel, son prestige, son attractivité et s'appuie sur des moyens techniques particulièrement efficaces (par exemple, Internet).

2. Hard power

À l'opposé du " soft power ", on trouve le " hard power ", littéralement la " puissance dure ". Il désigne le pouvoir de coercition employé par un Etat pour tenter d'obtenir des résultats par la force ou la menace, plutôt que l'influence culturelle ou économique.

3. Non-state actors

En diplomatie , les " non-state actors " désignent les personnes, groupes ou institutions intervenant dans la vie nationale ou internationale sans être officiellement mandatés par un Etat. Il peut s'agir d'ONG, d'associations ou autres.

4. To be a pipe dream

L'expression anglo-saxonne " pipe dream " exprime l'idée qu'un projet ou un objectif est une utopie, quelque chose d'illusoire ou de très improbable. " At the moment, that is still only a pipe dream, but it is something we should think about when the time comes " : " c'est encore une utopie, mais nous devrions toutefois y réfléchir le moment venu. "

5. Think tank

Dans son acception la plus large, un " think tank " désigne un groupe de personnes qui travaillent ensemble, réfléchissent à de nouvelles idées sur un sujet particulier, prodiguent des conseils, etc. Aux Etats-Unis et au Royaume-Uni, un think tank prend très souvent la forme d'une organisation privée qui, indépendamment des gouvernements et des groupes de pression, tâche d'analyser des politiques en vue de les infléchir.

6. Task force

Datant de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, ce terme d'origine militaire désigne une force d'intervention. Par extrapolation, il renvoie à un groupe de professionnels réunis spécialement pour exécuter une tâche ou conduire un projet.

7. To take a hard line

Cette expression idiomatique signifie littéralement " adopter une ligne dure ". Dans les relations diplomatiques, cela veut dire que l'on adopte une position ferme, une attitude intransigeante, que l'on se montre inflexible par rapport à un sujet.

8. Amenable

" Amenable " est un adjectif qui, à l'inverse de l'expression précédente, signifie que l'on est ouvert, flexible, disposé à faire quelque chose. Exemple : " Part of the country's public opinion was amenable to the government's narratives ".

9. An advocate

Un " advocate " est un défenseur, c'est-à-dire une personne qui soutient une cause ou les droits d'un groupe de personnes ou de minorités auprès de l'opinion publique, comme des " women's rights advocates ". On retrouve d'ailleurs ce terme dans l'expression " devil's advocate ", qui signifie l'avocat du diable.

10. The onus is on (somebody)

Dérivée du latin " onus ", qui signifie la " charge " ou le " fardeau ", cette expression idiomatique anglo-saxonne est utilisée pour dire que la responsabilité incombe à quelqu'un. Par exemple : " The onus is on the government to come up with positive solutions " (" Il incombe au gouvernement de trouver des solutions positives ").

Source : italki

Italki est une marketplace d'apprentissage de langues avec sa communauté gratuite de plus d'un million d'utilisateurs. Elle met en relation étudiants et enseignants par le biais de cours particuliers accessibles sur sites Web et mobile.

Les Echos

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Anglais : 10 expressions liées à la géopolitique

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Par Les Echos En relations internationales, l'expression anglaise " soft power " (littéralement, " puissance douce " en français), désigne la capacité d'influence et de persuasion d'une partie prenante, qu'il s'agisse d'un Etat, d'une société multinationale ou d'une ONG.

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Four in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis, and fear that governments are doing too little to prevent climate catastrophe, a poll in 10 countries has found.

Nearly six in 10 young people, aged 16 to 25, were very or extremely worried about climate change, according to the biggest scientific study yet on climate anxiety and young people, published on Tuesday. A similar number said governments were not protecting them, the planet, or future generations, and felt betrayed by the older generation and governments.

Three-quarters agreed with the statement "the future is frightening", and more than half felt they would have fewer opportunities than their parents. Nearly half reported feeling distressed or anxious about the climate in a way that was affecting their daily lives and functioning.

The poll of about 10,000 young people covered Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, the UK and the US. It was paid for by the campaigning organisation Avaaz.

Young climate activists said feelings of anxiety over the climate were now widespread among today's youth. Mitzi Tan, 23, from the Philippines, said: "I grew up being afraid of drowning in my own bedroom. Society tells me that this anxiety is an irrational fear that needs to be overcome, one that meditation and healthy coping mechanisms will 'fix'." At its root, our climate anxiety comes from this deep-set feeling of betrayal because of government inaction. To truly address our growing climate anxiety, we need justice."

It is now common for young people to worry about having children, according to Luisa Neubauer, a 25-year-old climate activist, who is co-organiser of the school strike movement in Germany and helped achieve the court victory that has forced the German government to re-evaluate its climate policies.

She said: "I meet a lot of young girls, who ask whether it's still OK to have children. It's a simple question, yet it tells so much about the climate reality we are living in. We young people realised that just worrying about the climate crisis won't stop it. So we turned our individual anxiety into collective action. And now, we are fighting everywhere: on the streets, at the courts, in and outside institutions across the globe. Yet governments are still failing us, as emissions are rising to record levels. The appropriate answer to this study would be governments to start acting like they promised they would."

Earlier this month, Unicef found that children and young people around the world were bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, with 1 billion children at "extreme risk" from the impacts of climate breakdown.

The study, entitled Young People's Voices on Climate Anxiety, Government Betrayal and Moral Injury: A Global Phenomenon, has been released on a pre-publication basis, while it is under the peer review process, by the scientific journal Lancet Planetary Health. The survey was conducted and analysed by seven academic institutions in the UK, Europe and the US, including the University of Bath, the University of East Anglia, and the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The poll adds to previous surveys, which have also found high levels of anxiety about the climate crisis around the world, including fears about having children.

Caroline Hickman, from the University of Bath, Climate Psychology Alliance and co-lead author on the study, said: "This study paints a horrific picture of widespread climate anxiety in our children and young people. It suggests for the first time that high levels of psychological distress in youth is linked to government inaction. Our children's anxiety is a completely rational reaction given the inadequate responses to climate change they are seeing from governments. What more do governments need to hear to take action?"

Francois Hollande, who was president of France when the Paris agreement was forged in 2015, urged governments meeting in November in Glasgow for the Cop26 UN climate summit to take note. "Six years after the Paris agreement, we must open our eyes to the violence of climate change, to its impact on our planet, but also to the mental health of our youth, as this alarming study shows. We must act urgently and do everything we can to give younger generations a future," he said.

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Four in 10 young people fear having children due to climate crisis

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Four in 10 young people around the world are hesitant to have children as a result of the climate crisis, and fear that governments are doing too little to prevent climate catastrophe, a poll in 10 countries has found.

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Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report

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The region has been hit hard by successive years of severe drought, forcing families in rural communities to resort to desperate measures just to survive.

Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, has a unique ecosystem which includes animals and plants found nowhere else on the planet. The country experiences a dry season, usually from May to October, and a rainy season that starts in November.

Daily life disrupted

However, climate change has disrupted the cycle, affecting smallholder farmers and their neighbours, said Alice Rahmoun, WFP Communications Officer in the capital, Antananarivo, speaking to UN News on Thursday.

"There is of course less rain, so when there is the first rain, they can maybe have hope and sow some seeds. But one little rain is not a proper rainy season," she said.

"So, what we can say is that the impacts of climate change are really stronger and stronger....so harvests fail constantly, so people don't have anything to harvest and anything to renew their food stocks."

Varying impacts

Ms. Rahmoun was recently in southern Madagascar, where WFP and partners are supporting hundreds of thousands of people through short and long-term assistance.

The impact of the drought varies from place to place, she said. While some communities have not had a proper rainy season for three years, the situation might be even worse 100 kilometres away.

She recalled seeing villages surrounded by dried-out fields, and tomato plants which were "completely yellow, or even brown", from lack of water.

Surviving on locusts

"In some areas they are still able to plant something, but it's not easy at all, so they are trying to grow sweet potatoes. But in some other areas, absolutely nothing is growing right now, so people are just surviving only eating locusts, eating fruits and cactus leaves," said Ms. Rahmoun.

"And, just as an example, cactus leaves are usually for cattle; it is not for human consumption."

The situation is even more dire because, she added, "even the cactus are dying from the drought, from the lack of rain and the lack of water, so it's really, really worrying".

Families barely coping

The plight of families is also deeply troubling. "People have already started to develop coping mechanisms to survive," she said.

"And that means that they are selling cattle, for example, to get money to be able to buy food, when before, they were able to get food and feed themselves from their own field production, so it's really changing the daily life for people."

Valuable assets such as fields, or even houses, are also put up for sale. Some families have even pulled their children out of school.

"It's also a strategy right now to gather the family's forces on finding income-generating activities involving children, so this has obviously a direct impact on education," Ms. Rahmoun said.

Providing life-saving aid

WFP is collaborating with humanitarian partners, and the Malagasy Government, to provide two types of response to the crisis. Some 700,000 people are receiving life-saving food aid, including supplementary products to prevent malnutrition.

"The second one is more long-term response to allow local communities to be able to prepare for, respond to and recover from climate shocks better," said Ms. Rahmoun. "So, this includes resilience projects such as water projects. We're doing irrigation canals, reforestation and even microinsurance to help smallholder farmers to recover from a lost harvest, for example."

WFP ultimately aims to support up to one million people between now and April, and is seeking nearly $70 million to fund operations. "But we are also involving more partners to find and fund climate change solutions for the community to adapt to the impacts of climate change in southern Madagascar."

COP26: Prioritize adaptation

In just over a week, world leaders will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, for the COP26 UN climate change conference, which UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called the last chance to "literally turn the tide" on an ailing planet.

Ms. Rahmoun said WFP wants to use the conference to shift the focus from crisis response, to risk management.

Countries must be prepared for climate shocks, and they must act together to reduce severe impacts on the world's most vulnerable people, which includes the villagers of southern Madagascar.

"COP26 is also an opportunity for us to ask governments and donors to prioritize funding relating to climate adaptation programmes, to help countries to build a better risk management system, and even in Madagascar, because if nothing is done, hunger will increase exponentially in the coming years because of climate change," she said, adding: "not only in Madagascar, but in other countries."

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Madagascar: Severe drought could spur world's first climate change famine

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The region has been hit hard by successive years of severe drought, forcing families in rural communities to resort to desperate measures just to survive. Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, has a unique ecosystem which includes animals and plants found nowhere else on the planet.

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From smog hanging over cities to smoke inside the home, air pollution poses a major threat to health and climate.

Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas is causing fine particulate matter which result in strokes, heart diseases, lung cancer, acute and chronic respiratory diseases.

Additionally, around 2.4 billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution, while using polluting open fires or simple stoves for cooking fuelled by kerosene, biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal.

The combined effects of ambient air pollution and household air pollution is associated with 7 million premature deaths annually.

Sources of air pollution are multiple and context specific. The major outdoor pollution sources include residential energy for cooking and heating, vehicles, power generation, agriculture/waste incineration, and industry. Policies and investments that support sustainable land use, cleaner household energy and transport, energy-efficient housing, power generation, industry, and better municipal waste management can effectively reduce key sources of ambient air pollution.

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Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. WHO is working with countries to monitor air pollution and improve air quality.

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Greta Thunberg questions world leaders’ climate talks: “30 years of blah blah blah”

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Greta Thunberg questions world leaders’ climate talks: “30 years of blah blah blah”

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Greta Thunberg questions world leaders’ climate talks: “30 years of blah blah blah”

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Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today

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Follow the journey of abortion law in the United States — from criminalization in the late 1800s to legalization in the early 1970s — and the ongoing battles for abortion access.

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Start studying ABORTION. Learn vocabulary, terms and more with flashcards, games and other study tools.

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THE DEBATE BETWEEN PRO-LIFE AND PRO-CHOICE

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THE DEBATE BETWEEN PRO-LIFE AND PRO-CHOICE

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Pro-Life and Pro-Choice: What Does It Mean?

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In this article, we outline the pro-life and pro-choice meanings, equipping you with enough knowledge to make a confident decision.

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Section of Congressional Record
Daily Digest Senate House Extensions of Remarks

Members Remarks

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Text - H.R.705 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021

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Text for H.R.705 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Heartbeat Protection Act of 2021

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0:00 / 1:58•Watch full video

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How America politicised abortion | The Economist

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0:00 / 3:35•Watch full video

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Texas 'fetal heartbeat' abortion law takes effect

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The language of power

When you travel all over the world, you soon realize that English is the language of power. Outside of English speaking countries, the victims of the system do not speak English, or at least they do not master it at a level which would put them on an equal footing with native speakers. Those who have a real mastery of English belong to the ruling classes, to business, to academe, to the comprador class and, in a number of countries, to the media. A typical example is India, where English is officially the inter-ethnic language, but where it is spoken only by 3% of the population (some sources say 1%).

As in many other fields, the powerful have succeeded in conditioning people into believing that this is normal, that it is fair and that there is no alternative. English as a global language is taken for granted by practically everybody, including the victims. A very strange blindness occults its disadvantages, as compared with other solutions. Its main drawback is that it is so difficult for most inhabitants of our planet - but with various degrees of difficulty - that it creates a hierarchy. Among the peoples: English speaking nations, then people with a Germanic language, then people with a Romance language, followed successively by people with a Slavic language, and people with non-Indo-European languages. Within a given people: practically only persons wealthy enough to be able to afford several years of study in an English speaking country can be articulate in it. It may be that even in an English speaking country like the US, African-Americans and Spanish speaking people (as well as people of Korean, Ethiopian and other non European heritages) are also victims of this discriminatory hierarchy. In no sport would it be accepted that the competing teams might be submitted to unequal conditions, but nobody seems to realize that a negotiation in which one of the partners is obliged to use a foreign language is like a ping-pong match in which one of the players, although right handed, is forced to use his left hand.

All through the world, 95% of young people lucky enough to frequent a secondary school learn English. Apart from countries with a Germanic language, the result of this teaching, which represents a tremendous investment by governments and by a large number of private institutions, just as it requires a considerable investment in time and effort from the relevant individuals, is practically nil: in non-Germanic Europe, only 1% of the young are able to communicate more or less correctly in English at the end of their secondary studies; in Asia the percentage is 0,1%. When this poor result is called to the attention of government representatives, they incriminate the teachers or the pedagogy, or the students, never the language itself. Nobody in the whole world is willing to acknowledge as a fact that English is much too difficult to be acquired with only four or five hours a week for only six or seven years. According to my research (see my book Le défi des langues, Paris: L'Harmattan, 2nd ed. 1998, pp. 73-78), a minimum of 10'000 hours of study and practice are required to be able to master the language. The man in the street does not have 10'000 hours to devote to the study of the language. He is thus cut off from international life. Although his welfare depends on it.

Another perverse effect of English as a global language is that practically all through the world the information is biased according to the viewpoints of English speaking societies, since most of it comes through United Press International, Associated Press and Reuters, not to mention the impact in the world of magazines like Newsweek and Time (which did not devote a single line, at least in its European edition, to the Porto Alegre Forum or to the troubles in Quebec triggered off by the meeting of government representatives from the Americas on the large free market zone in that part of the world). The fact that in most countries 80% of movies shown on television are Hollywood productions is seldom related to language, although since English is the only foreign language understood in many countries, translations can be arranged for such films whereas they are not if the movie comes from another culture.

The subtle message that English is all right and that, anyway, there is no alternative to it is so prevalent that I would not have been aware of its significance if it were not for three circumstances:

(1) I have had the opportunity of travelling all over the world (especially for the World Health Organization),
(2) I have lived at the same time in various international milieus, which use different systems of linguistic communication,
(3) I happen to speak Esperanto since childhood.

The fact that Esperanto is so little known (especially in the US) and that, where the name is known, the real nature of the language is not, is part of the prevalent message. Ignoring a reality which is potentially disruptive for an established order is quite an effective way of preventing the replacement of this order by something more democratic and fair. In the case of Esperanto, it is taken for granted by most people who know about it that it is dead-born or that it is a failure, some kind of utopia which was doomed from the first because it is contrary to human nature. It is also wrongly imagined that its purpose is to solve the language problem by replacing all other languages, which is a sure means of eliciting a strong negative reaction against it, since language is part of our identity and nobody (apart form immigrants who want to assimilate completely) likes to give up such an important factor in his or her sense of being. As somebody who has spoken Esperanto with ordinary people in countries as different as Uzbekistan and New Zealand, Brazil and Hungary, Japan and the Congo, and many, many others, and who is exchanging e-mail messages in Esperanto with people in many countries I have not visited, like Togo, Ukraine and Mongolia, I can testify that Esperanto is extremely alive, practical, culturally inoffensive (as contrasted with English) and has never be meant to replace the other languages. Just consult http://www.esperanto.net.

As can be seen in my paper "Linguistic Communication: A Comparative Field Study" ( http://claudepiron.free.fr), Esperanto can be acquired in between 180 and 220 hours, according to the native language, or in 0,02% of the time required to acquire English. Other studies conclude that at a same level of intensity (same number of hours per week), after six months of Esperanto the student has a communication capability which requires six years in the case of English.

This is the reason why Esperanto has been selected by the project Indigenaj Dialogoj, which helps people from discriminated ethnies to communicate and coordinate their actions by teaching them both the use of computers and of an international language much more cost effective than English and free from any power or economic connotation.

Language has in society the same function as nervous influx in an organism. The kind of monopoly on international communication that English has acquired creates a gap between those who master it and the bulk of the population in non-English-speaking countries. It is a very good application of the divide ut imperes principle. Unity of action and accurate mutual information are necessities if we want to orientate the world towards a fairer society, both within and among countries. Without an easy and rich language, accessible to all, as Esperanto happens to be, this goal cannot be attained.

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Claude Piron - communication, langues, espéranto

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The language of power When you travel all over the world, you soon realize that English is the language of power. Outside of English speaking countries, the victims of the system do not speak English, or at least they do not master it at a level which would put them on an equal footing with native speakers.

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English is the most widely spoken language in the world. Chinese is number one for the number of native speakers, but with 400 million mother-tongue speakers and at least as many using it as a second language, English has become the world's main communication tool.

How did a language brought to Britain by settlers from northern Germany become so widely spoken? Part of the reason is its flexibility and willingness to absorb new words from other parts of the world. We speak a melange of motley words of mongrel origin.

The language spoken by the Angles and Saxons 1,500 years ago was very different from the language we speak now. It has gone through massive changes. The invasion by the Normans in 1066 brought many French words of Latin and Greek origin. So we have sheep (Old English) and mutton (French).

Modern English evolved around 500 years ago when Shakespeare was writing. He invented hundreds of new words and phrases, many of which are in common use today. Words like 'lonely', 'hurry' and 'majestic' had not been used before. And well-known phrases like 'wild goose chase' and 'a tower of strength' first appeared in his plays.

In later years, English adopted words from Spanish, like guerrilla; from the Caribbean, like barbecue; and from India, like pyjamas. There are many words from Arabic too: coffee, cotton, sugar and algebra. It is this absorption capacity that makes English so rich and fascinating, capable of great poetry and elegance, but also open to puns, nuances and doubles entendres.

In the last few years, globalisation and the growth of the Internet has made English the lingua franca of business, aviation and even diplomacy. Most major multinational companies use English to ensure that all their offices in different countries can talk to each other. Pilots have to use English to communicate with air traffic controllers. And in Brussels, European diplomats negotiate with each other in English.

This growth has led to the development of a shortened, simpler English with a limited vocabulary of around 1,500 words (compared with over 600,000 in the Oxford English Dictionary).

Some people might lament the simplification of English. But if it helps people to communicate, it isn't a problem.

The growth of English makes our language a valuable tool for soft power, ie enabling us to make friends and influence people, not through military might but through culture. Across the world, people want to study English to help them get on in their studies or in their careers. The importance of English will not diminish with Brexit.

This drive to learn gives native English speakers an advantage. And it is no surprise many students want to learn English from the British Council rather than other native speakers.

To serve this demand, the British Council works to create understanding between the people of the UK and other countries by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. The Council operates in 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year they reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications.

In Libya, the Council works with universities and schools to promote English, including a range of examinations and qualifications. They have developed many innovative ways to promote English, for example through radio programmes, Facebook and Twitter. Their work goes beyond the language and includes outreach to communities through programmes such as Young Arab Voices that helps train young people to set up their own debate clubs, reinforcing their ability to discuss subjects of their own choosing in a mature and dignified manner.

Homer Simpson said: "English! Who needs that? I'm never going to England." No, but for many people, English is the language of opportunity.

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The Power of English | Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

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English is the most widely spoken language in the world. Chinese is number one for the number of native speakers, but with 400 million mother-tongue speakers and at least as many using it as a second language, English has become the world's main communication tool.

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WHEN ALGERIA WANTS TO MOVE FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH

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WHEN ALGERIA WANTS TO MOVE FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH

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Press play to listen to this article

ALGIERS - In the world of diplomacy, few details carry as much import as language. And few languages carry the diplomatic and cultural heft that French has long boasted.

So when the sign on Emmanuel Macron's lectern at the Algerian presidential palace last week read "Presidency of the Republic" instead of "Présidence de la République" in French (after all, Algeria was part of the French colonial empire for well over a century), diplomats and casual observers in Paris took note.

"I wasn't surprised but I was shocked [Algeria] would do such a thing during the visit of a French president," said France's former ambassador to Algeria, Xavier Driencourt.

"It's very deliberate. It's a message for France but also a way of telling the Algerian people that there's nothing special about French, it's a language like any other," he added.

The choice of the host's language during Macron's trip is the latest signal the government wants to phase out French as one of the working languages of Algerian officialdom. In July, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that English would be taught in primary schools starting this year in what has been presented as a gradual phasing out of French. "French is a spoil of war, but English is an international language," said Tebboune.

The use of French, particularly in public administration, businesses and universities, is part of a complicated legacy of the colonial era, which ended in 1962 after a brutal eight-year war of independence. France is now in a soft power battle to maintain influence in Algeria as its former colony moves to replace French for English in schools. Arabic and Tamazight are the two official languages of Algeria, with most citizens speaking an Arabic dialect at home. While French is not an official language of the former French colony, it is taught in Algerian elementary schools starting around age nine and is spoken by a third of Algerians. English is only studied in secondary schools beginning around age 14. If the Algerian government has its way, the status of the two languages will be reversed with English language instruction starting in elementary school swapping out French.

With close to 15 million French speakers according to the International Organization for the French language, Algeria is the third-largest French-speaking country in the world, after France and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For France, the loss of Algeria would be a huge dent to its sphere of influence, which is a constant concern for French politicians.

"If France doesn't get its act together, if it doesn't stop the replacement of French by English, it will lose its influence, it will lose people able to spread its culture and defend its interests. If there is no change, the French sphere of influence will disappear," said Dr. Ryadh Ghessil, French language lecturer at the University of Bourmèdes, east of Algiers.

But while the move away from using French is seen by some as a way of exorcising the Mediterranean nation's colonial past, many Algerian French-speakers look askance at a decision they say is politically motivated.

"The government is trying to boost the use of Arabic, but also encourage English because it's seen as more culturally neutral in Algeria," he said.

"They are doing it because behind every language there is a culture, and the French language creates people who are critical, who have read Camus and who are a problem for the powers that be," he said, with reference to the French writer and resistance fighter Albert Camus, who was born in Algeria.

Speaking to the world

Amid the bustle of downtown Algiers, Algerians on their lunch break take a moment to sit in the sun or catch up with friends before going back to work or school. Outside the Mustapha University hospital, the view on language is unanimous: Most would rather study English instead of French as their second language if they were given the choice.

"English is an international language, it's more useful than French for traveling," said management student Souhali Zouaoui.

"If you want to work in Algeria you need French, but if you want to get a job in Europe, Canada or the United States, you want English," she added.

Amid the bustle of downtown Algiers, Algerians on their lunch break take a moment to sit in the sun or catch up with friends before going back to work or school | Ryad Kramdi/AFP via Getty Images

"Young people prefer to speak English because everybody does. French is only spoken in a handful of countries," echoed 23-year-old nurse Abdelrahim Sakraoui, sporting fake Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses and a hipster beard.

"The history of colonization also puts us off studying French," he added.

In this corner of Algeria, France's soft power - a highly subsidized culture industry and accessible state TV channels - appears to be failing to punch through the U.S.'s global reach, with locals naming American singers and films as their favorites.

And the desires of the younger globalized generations appear to dovetail with a historic hankering among nationalists in Algeria to phase out the use of French in officialdom, which dates back to the early days of independence.

"It's not a new demand and the move is seen as a way of emancipating oneself from the old colonial ties," said Amar Mohand-Amer, historian at a research center in the Algerian city of Oran.

"It's cathartic, we want to liberate ourselves from the French language," he said.

And according to Mohand-Amer, the language issue also rears its head every time the Franco-Algerian relationship hits difficulties - as it did last year.

Macron's Algeria visit last week was aimed at resetting relations after the French president offended the Algerian regime when he accused them of instrumentalizing the colonial past.

Last year, the French president accused the Algerian government of being "a politico-military system" that encouraged "a hatred of France" and was "cashing in on the colonial past." In response, Algeria recalled its ambassador for three months.

Shoring up French influence

Algeria's public shift to English, the signing of a multibillion-euro gas deal with Italy in July and Algeria's decision to hold joint military exercises with Russia in November were all signs picked up in Paris and viewed by some as a threat to its shrinking sway in the region. Macron's visit to Algeria also came shortly after a visit to French-speaking Cameroon and Benin against the backdrop of France's military withdrawal from the Sahel region.

Many observers note that France is fighting to maintain its influence in what was once called "la Françafrique" in the years after the independence of former French colonies in Africa.

While the number of French speakers in Africa is set to increase, the proportion of people speaking French in Africa is expected to plateau, according a report from the International Organization for the French language.

During his visit, Macron paid particular attention to publicly supporting the Franco-Algerian community, the bedrock of the continued use of French in Algeria.

"We want to have a more flexible approach on who we allow into France, to the families of binational citizens, but also artists, athletes, business leaders and politicians who contribute to creating the bilateral relationship," he said on Friday in Algiers, adding that a deal on visas for Algerians would be announced in the coming weeks.

Macron also met a group of young entrepreneurs at the French embassy in Algiers, some of whom anonymously expressed concern at the government's desire to phase out French.

"It reminds one of the Arabization policies in 1970s, which were catastrophic for Algeria. To get rid of French, Arabic teachers from Syria and Egypt were brought in, but they were often not qualified, didn't know how to write properly in Arabic," said Brahim Oumansour, North Africa expert for the Paris think-tank IRIS.

"Algeria spent a long time trying to repair the effects of that mistake," he said.

The tide might not have fully turned yet against the French language. The gestures signaling a reconciliation between Macron and his counterpart Tebboune were numerous during the visit last week, with the leaders signing a statement of cooperation to open schools, translate French and Algerian works of literature and boost ties between universities on both sides of the Mediterranean.

"Now that there are signs of goodwill on both sides, maybe the language question will be revisited," mused Oumansour.

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Algeria's move to English signals erosion of France's sway

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Press play to listen to this article ALGIERS - In the world of diplomacy, few details carry as much import as language. And few languages carry the diplomatic and cultural heft that French has long boasted.

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British politics can seem very confusing - there are lots of different political parties and branches of government, and even though we have a monarchy we are also a democracy. We've put together this handy guide to answer some common questions about the British political system.

Is the Queen in charge of the UK?

Sort of. The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. This means that while a monarch - in this case, Queen Elizabeth II - is the head of state, she is not the head of government. She does not get to make most of the decisions about how the government is run; that job belongs to the Prime Minister, or PM.

The English monarchy used to have absolute power, but that was a long time ago - over 800 years in fact. 2015 was the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, or the Great Charter. This document spelled out the rights and responsibilities of King John of England and the ruling class in 1215. The Magna Carta is regarded as the first statement of citizen rights in the world.

The Bill of Rights of 1689 - which is still in effect - lays down limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament, and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution.

Nowadays the Queen's role is mostly ceremonial.

Do England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland each have their own governments?

Yes and no. England is the most powerful country of the four and the British Government works for the Queen, who is an English monarch. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are all ultimately beholden to English law. However, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have governing bodies that work exclusively on issues in their own countries.

Scotland is the most politically independent country. The Scottish National Party (SNP) have 56 seats in the House of Commons and the Scottish Government is responsible for running day-to-day matters in Scotland such as education, transport, and health.

Wales has the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales, which are in charge of things like making laws for Wales and agreeing Welsh taxes.

At the moment Northern Ireland does not have a sitting government but Northern Ireland does have the Northern Ireland and which has powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland.

Who makes the laws in the UK?

The UK's government has three basic types of power: legislative, executive, and judiciary.

Legislative power is the power to make new laws or remove old ones. This power is held by Parliament, which is made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Irish Assembly also have legislative powers; however, they do not have as much authority as Parliament.

Executive power - the power to implement and enforce laws - is controlled by the British government, which works on behalf of the Queen, as well as the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Judiciary power, which is the power to prosecute those who break the law, is kept independent of the legislature and the executive. The highest court in the UK is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

What are the different political parties and how are their members elected?

People vote in elections for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them. The party that gets the most seats in Parliament forms the Government. For example, right now the Conservatives have the most seats in Parliament, so the UK has a Conservative Government. If, in the next election, Labour wins more seats, we will have a Labour Government.

There are lots of political parties in the UK, but the big ones are:

The Conservative Party (currently led by Boris Johnson). The Conservatives are "right wing," or conservative. They typically believe that business shouldn't be regulated and that we should all look after ourselves.

The Labour Party (currently led by Jeremy Corbyn). Labour are "left wing," or liberal. People who are left wing believe that the state should support those who cannot support themselves. Ideas like the redistribution of wealth, the , and job seeker's allowance are fundamentally left-wing ideas.

The Liberal Democrats (currently led by Jo Swinson). The Lib Dems, as they're called, fall between the Conservatives and Labour. Even though they have "liberal" in their name they are really a mix of liberal and conservative.

Scottish National Party (currently led by Nicola Sturgeon). The SNP is left wing and Scotland is, politically-speaking, more liberal than England.

Who can vote in the UK?

Members of the UK Parliament are elected in General Elections, which typically take place every five years. To vote in a General Election you must be:

Registered to vote

18 or over on the day of the election ('polling day')

A British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen

Resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years)

Eligible to vote - i.e. you cannot be legally excluded from voting

How does the voting system in the UK work?

The UK voting system operates on a majority vote system. The political party that wins the most votes wins the election. For a political party in the UK to form a government they need an overall majority.

If the winning party does not have an overall majority then there is a hung parliament. If this happens, one large party will join up with a smaller party to form a coalition. By doing this, they exclude the main opposition and still have power - although it is now shared between the two coalition parties.

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How the British political system works - Great British Mag

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British politics can seem very confusing - there are lots of different political parties and branches of government, and even though we have a monarchy we are also a democracy. We've put together this handy guide to answer some common questions about the British political system. Sort of.

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is the official head of state; has mostly representative functions
THE GOVERNMENT
appoints
THE MONARCH
The Prime Minister
The Cabinet
About 20 ministers; determines government policies
chooses
Non-Cabinet Ministers
PARLIAMENT
The House of Commons
the House of Lords
(about 650 elected MPs)
makes laws; discusses political
problems
(over 800 permanent non-elected
members - peers and life peers)
Examines and revises bills from the
House of Commons; can delay bills
for one year
elect
THE PEOPLE
(all men and women over 18)
appoints
Is responsible to
is the head of the government; is the leader of the party with
the majority of seats in the House of Commons
chooses

* What political system does the United Kingdom
belong to?
* Where are its laws made?
* What are the two chambers of the British
Parliament?
* What functions do the members of the House of
Commons perform?
* What are the functions of the House of Lords?
* Which of the two chambers of the British
Parliament is elected by the people?

* What about the government of Britain? Can
you name its functions?
* Who can become Prime Minister?
* Who is the British government responsible to?
* What branch of power does each of them
represent?
- the Monarch
- the Government
- Parliament

Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is
also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is the most important
authority in Britain. It represents the legislative branch of power.
Parliament first met in the 13th century.

Parliament is made up of two chambers - the
House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify
to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of
England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their
fathers, people with titles.

The House of Lords comprises about 800 peers. The house
is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of
Lords has no real power but acts as an advisory council
for the House of Commons. As well as having legislative
functions, the Lords is the highest court of appeal.

The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament (MPs)
who are elected by the adult suffrage of the British people in
general elections which are held at least every five years. The
country is divided into 650 constituencies each of which elects
one Member of Parliament. The Commons has 650 Members of
Parliament. The party which wins the most seats forms the
Government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister.

The functions of Commons are legislation and security
of government activities. The House is presided over by
the Speaker.

The present sovereign is
Queen Elizabeth II who
was crowned in
Westminster Abbey in
1953.

Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is
expected to be politically neutral, and should not make
political decisions.

Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important
executive and legislative duties including opening and
dissolving Parliament, signing bills passed by both Houses,
and fulfilling international duties as head of state.

The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes
Parliament. All new laws are discussed by Members of
Parliament in the Commons, then debated in the Lords,
and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of
Parliament in Britain.

The party which wins the most seats in the General Election
forms the government in Britain. The leader of the
winning party becomes a Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, chooses a committee of ministers called the Cabinet. This is
made up of a selection of senior Members of Parliament from the House of
Commons and some members of the House of Lords. Each member of the Cabinet
is a minister responsible for a government department. The Cabinet meets at the
Prime Minister's house- 10 Downing Street.
The Cabinet works as a team and all ministers must always agree in public
because they are collectively responsible for the decisions they make. If a
minister cannot agree with all the others, he usually resigns from the
Cabinet.

Cabinet meetings are held in private and the details must remain secret for at least 30 years. They are
responsible to Parliament and must answer questions from backbenchers from the House of
Commons. Even the Prime Minister must answer questions every Tuesday and Thursday in the
Commons - this is called Prime Minister's Question Time.
Non-cabinet ministers who are not members of the Cabinet, the senior group which takes major policy
decisions, but they are collectively responsible for government decisions and individually
responsible for their own departments.
The Queen gives a weekly audience to the Prime Minister at which she has a right and a duty to
express her views on Government matters. This usually takes place on Wednesdays at 6.30 pm. No
written record is made of such meetings; neither The Queen nor the Prime Minister talk about
what is discussed between them, as communications between The Queen and the Prime Minister
always remain confidential. If either The Queen or the Prime Minister are not available to meet,
then they will speak by telephone.

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British Institutions - online presentation

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is the official head of state; has mostly representative functions THE GOVERNMENT appoints THE MONARCH The Prime Minister The Cabinet About 20 ministers; determines government policies chooses Non-Cabinet Ministers PARLIAMENT The House of Commons the House of Lords (about 650 elected MPs) makes laws; discusses political problems (over 800 permanent

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his is not a post-BBC ex-employee rant. I had two decades of opportunity that could not be bettered. But it is an exhalation. A deep breath out. All the things that wisely could not be said then, can be said more easily now.

Things that for many decades were givens - the checks and balances on the executive, the role of the judiciary or the civil service, a media free from interference or vilification - now appear vulnerable.

Things that once would have shocked us now seem commonplace. The ministerial code violated with impunity. The unlawful attempt to prorogue parliament for five weeks; the blink-and-you-miss-it moment the governing party's Twitter account changed its name to "factcheckUK" - in the middle of an election campaign, to coat party propaganda in a format that sounded objective. Or the admission by the then Northern Ireland secretary that he would be prepared to break international law.

The long-term effect of those trends I will leave to others. Today I want to look at where we come in. Journalists. Broadcasters. Specifically, the impact that populist rhetoric is having on the way we do our job as journalists.

I remember, to my shame, interviewing the Trump acolyte Sebastian Gorka on Newsnight in the early days of the Trump victory. Gorka would use up most of the interview time by screaming abuse at the BBC. He didn't have any problem with the BBC. He quite likedthe BBC. He was always happy to say yes to the interview. But he used our time on air - and that of many of my colleagues - as an effective conduit to sell a key populist message: that the mainstream media could be dismissed as "fake". Once you understand how this works, it seems so obvious. You kick down belief in a trusted source of news, you make the audience doubt what they are seeing and you step into the breach; a shameless play for power and dominance.

As a journalist, I was mortified. I would spend half our allotted interview time trying to defend our objectivity and the rest bending over backwards to reconcile his strangled version of the truth, just to prove his criticism of me wrong. (In so doing, ironically, I lost the very objectivity I was seeking to defend.)

This was when Donald Trump was already finding his feet as president. But our mistakes started long before that. Let me take you this time to early 2016. The UK is beginning to debate the big questions around Britain's potential exit from the EU. It is complicated stuff: we are trying to offer our viewers both sides of a fiendishly difficult debate. And that intention was right. But we still got it wrong. We fell into what we might call "the Patrick Minford paradigm". In other words, it might take our producers five minutes to find 60 economists who feared Brexit and five hours to find a sole voice who espoused it. But by the time we went on air, we simply had one of each; we presented this unequal effort to our audience as balance. It wasn't.

I would later learn the ungainly name for this myopic style of journalism: "both sideism", which talks to the way it reaches a superficial balance while obscuring a deeper truth.

I remember the time we were granted an interview with Robert De Niro from New York. It was the height of Covid: New York had been decimated by the disease, makeshift morgues and a ghostly city abandoned by anyone with the means to leave. It was a sobering but equally an exciting time to have an interview with one of the world's bestloved actors. And I wanted to know what it felt like for the archetypal New Yorker to see the city and its people so bereft.

As we began the interview, however, it was clear that De Niro had other things on his mind than New York. He wanted to rage about President Trump's mishandling of the pandemic. He accused him of not caring how many died. It was - for context - three weeks after Trump had given the infamous "bleach" press conference where he was seen to be suggesting the use of disinfectant to fight Covid inside the body.

De Niro told me: "It's scary because everyone is sort of nonplussed and stunned at what this guy Trump is doing ... You've got a lunatic saying things that people are trying to dance around - it's appalling."

In my ear, my editor is urging me, as is his editorial job, to put the other side. But I am resisting it because - quite frankly - what is the other side? Do I say: "Nonsense, bleach might work - we just won't know until we've tried!" Or do I pretend he didn't mention disinfectant when it's there on tape? Or do I say: "You're only saying that because you're a liberal lefty luvvie Democrat"? Which doesn't seem to capture the gravitas of this moment when he's talking about the horrendous death toll America is witnessing.

As an attempt at pushback, I begin: "Trump's fanbase would take issue with that."

The reason I'm recounting this is not for the exchange, but for what happens next. I am terrified that by putting out the interview as it stands we will be seen as biased. De Niro is a world-famous actor, and a New Yorker, and has chosen our programme, Newsnight, as the place to land his thoughts quite carefully. So why do I feel unable to let him say it without trying to find an equally world-famous actor who that same night is miraculously going to tell us the opposite?

It speaks again to how forcefully even imaginedpopulist accusations of bias work on the journalist's brain. To the point where we censor our own interviews to avoid the backlash.

The coda to this story is that the De Niro interview did go out. And the sky didn't fall down. And the news lines were picked up around the world. But it's curious now to look back on our reactions because of what happened two weeks later.

The now-infamous Dominic Cummings Newsnight introduction got way more attention than in truth it ever deserved. It stated bluntly and baldly that he had broken the rules. And it asked why the government - Boris Johnson - was standing by him. The introduction set out, as is often the case, the rest of the show. We had Conservative MPs explaining the PM's loyalty, we had pollsters explaining the public horror on this issue, we had defenders, we had critics and we had a detailed analysis of which rules had been broken and when. In other words, the introduction was a precis of what viewers could expect of the whole show. And on the night itself, the programme passed off with a few pleasant texts from BBC editors and frankly little else.

It was only the next morning that the wheels fell off. A phone call of complaint was made from Downing Street to the BBC News management. This, for context, is not unusual. It wasn't unusual in the Blair days - far from it - in the Brown days, in the Cameron days. What I'm saying is, it's normal for government spin doctors to vocalise their displeasure to journalists.

What was not foreseen was the speed with which the BBC sought to pacify the complainant. Within hours, a very public apology was made, the programme was accused of a failure of impartiality, the recording disappeared from iPlayer, and there were paparazzi outside my front door.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to pretend our intro was the Gettysburg address. When I hear it now I think it was rather long-winded, wordy and sounded a bit piqued. But I don't think: "Wow, what a shocking breach of impartiality because we called out the actions of one of the chief architects of the Covid laws."

We show our impartiality when we report without fear or favour. When we are not scared to hold power to account, even when it feels uncomfortable to do so. When we understand that if we've covered rule-breaking by a Scottish chief medical officer or an English government scientist then journalistic rigour should be applied to those who make policy within No 10. The one person - ironically - who understood this was Dominic Cummings himself. Who texted me that very evening to offer his wry support.

So, back to the speed of response. Why had the BBC immediately and publicly sought to confirm the government spokesman's opinion? Without any kind of due process? It makes no sense for an organisation that is admirably, famously rigorous about procedure - unless it was perhaps sending a message of reassurance directly to the government itself?

Put this in the context of the BBC board, where another active agent of the Conservative party - former Downing Street spin doctor, and former adviser to BBC rival GB News [Sir Robbie Gibb] - now sits, acting as the arbiter of BBC impartiality. According to the Financial Times, he's attempted to blockthe appointments of journalists he considers damaging to government relations, provoking Labour's deputy leader (among others) to call it "Tory cronyism at the heart of the BBC".

We - journalists, management teams, organisations - are primed to back down, even apologise, to prove how journalistically fair we are being. That can be exploited by those crying "bias". If it suits those in power to shut us up - or down - they can. Critically, it's lose-lose for the audience.

This summer, we've watched the havoc at Dover customs meet with a wall of silence around Brexit. Those who promised to get Brexit donecan't mention it - because it clearly isn't. Their insistence on "third nation" status has meant passport checks and horrendous waiting times. Labour avoids talking about Brexit because it's decided - rightly or wrongly - to distance itself from remainer tags. And large sections of both the BBC and government-supporting newspapers appear to go into an automatic crouch position whenever the Brexit issue looms large.

Many broadcasters fear discussing the obvious economic cause of major change in this country in case they get labelled pessimistic, anti-populist, or worse still, as above: unpatriotic. And yet every day that we sidestep these issues with glaring omissions feels like a conspiracy against the British people; we are pushing the public further away.

Emily Maitlis is a former Newsnight presenter. The News Agents, her daily Global Radio podcast with the BBC's former North America editor, Jon Sopel, launches on Tuesday

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When an agent of the Tory party decides the BBC's 'bias', it's a huge problem | Emily Maitlis

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his is not a post-BBC ex-employee rant. I had two decades of opportunity that could not be bettered. But it is an exhalation. A deep breath out. All the things that wisely could not be said then, can be said more easily now.

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L'anglais britannique et l'anglais américain possèdent des différences de phonétique, de vocabulaire, d'orthographe, de grammaire mais également des journaux propres à la culture associée.
LiveLondon vous fait le point sur les meilleurs journaux pour vous permettre de progresser plus vite en anglais !

Les journaux britanniques

Journal institutionnel et plus ancien quotidien britannique, est avant tout un journal grand public donc il convient de commencer par là pour améliorer son niveau d'anglais et ensuite poursuivre avec des journaux plus complexes. Les sujets traités portent évidemment sur l'actualité, mais également la culture, le sport...de quoi enrichir votre vocabulaire !
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/
Journal anglophone de référence en Angleterre, il vous permettra de progresser sur les expressions anglaises typiques. Il sera une référence pour votre apprentissage du vocabulaire mais également de la grammaire tout en vous aidant à vous instruire sur les opinions politiques et économiques des social libéraux britanniques.
https://www.theguardian.com/international
Magazine le plus vendu au monde, est un journal à scandale plus connu pour ses contenus polémiques que pour son stule. Néanmoins, son style mordant et accrocheur vous permettra d'améliorer votre vocabulaire en expression typique. De quoi progresser sur l'anglais de tous les jours !
https://www.thesun.co.uk/
Les journaux américains

Bien sûr, The New York Times et le Washington Post sont des références en matière de journaux outre Atlantique mais USA Today est l'un des journaux préférés des américains, car il traite essentielement de leur préoccupations et dans un style très simple. Il est donc particulièrement adapté pour une lecture facile, et donc une amélioration rapide de votre niveau d'anglais.
https://eu.usatoday.com/
Journal de référence parmi les journaux américains, il est recommandé pour améliorer son niveau d'anglais, mais également il regorge d'informations sur l'actualité politique américaine.
Il est donc indispensable pour améliorer sa culture américaine.
https://www.nytimes.com/
Spécialisé dans les enquêtes d'actualité, ce journal d'investigation américain vous permettra d'avoir un regard acéré sur les faits d'actualité récents.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/
Incontournable de la presse anglophone américaine, son contenu traite de l'actualité internationale et nationale avec des articles de fonds. De quoi progresser en anglais tout en s'instruisant !
https://time.com/

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Les meilleurs journaux anglais et américains pour améliorer votre niveau d'anglais !

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L'anglais britannique et l'anglais américain possèdent des différences de phonétique, de vocabulaire, d'orthographe, de grammaire mais également des journaux propres à la culture associée.LiveLondon vous fait le point sur les meilleurs journaux pour vous permettre de progresser plus vite en anglais !

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NEW PM EMBARRASSING VIDEO ON THE END OF MONARCHY

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NEW PM EMBARRASSING VIDEO ON THE END OF MONARCHY

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British Prime Minister Liz Truss called for end of the monarchy in 1994

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A monarchist and a republican go head to head

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METHODOLOGIE ET EXEMPLE DE RESUME ANALYTIQUE COMPARATIF

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METHODOLOGIE ET EXEMPLE DE RESUME ANALYTIQUE COMPARATIF

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HOW THE MEDIA DESCRIBED LIZ TRUSS'S UK WHILE LIZ TRUSS WAS PM

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HOW THE MEDIA DESCRIBED LIZ TRUSS'S UK WHILE LIZ TRUSS WAS PM

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‘The UK seems to have imploded’: how world’s press sees Truss’s Britain

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Post-Brexit schadenfreude in Europe and warnings from US that new PM is ‘making UK look like Argentina’

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This page brings together the main documents that set out the government's vision for Global Britain.

The UK has always taken a leading role in responding to global challenges and in making the most of opportunities for our country. However information and influence are dispersed and contested amongst many more actors, both state and non-state. This, and the pace of change in an ever more challenging global environment, inevitably have a significant impact on how the UK government projects influence and protects its national interests.

The shifting global context, a new relationship with Europe, and the need to deliver more with finite resources, requires us to evolve and enhance how we achieve our goals. We need to use government assets more cohesively and efficiently to maintain our global standing. Global Britain is about reinvesting in our relationships, championing the rules-based international order and demonstrating that the UK is open, outward-looking and confident on the world stage.

Evidence in response to parliamentary enquiries

How UK foreign policy responds to an ever more challenging global environment: February 2018 memorandum for the International Relations Committee

The government's vision of Global Britain and the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in supporting and enabling government departments to deliver this vision: March 2018 memorandum for the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

Prime Minister's speeches

Foreign Secretary's announcements

National Security Capability Review

Previous Prime Minister's speeches

Previous Foreign Secretarys' announcements

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Global Britain: delivering on our international ambition

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THE US AND THE UK'S SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

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THE US AND THE UK'S SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

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Global Britain: An American review

By Dame Karen Pierce, Max Bergmann, Peter Rough, Rachel Ellehuus, Yakov Feygin, Nate Sibley, Livia Godaert, Leah Scheunemann, Safa Shahwan Edwards, Margaret Jackson, Olivier-Remy Bel, Damir Marusic, Jörn Fleck, Julia Friedlander, Frances Burwell, James Batchik

Table of contents
Opening essay from British Ambassador to the United States Karen Pierce
By Dame Karen Pierce Global Britain: An American review
Introduction
Our expert grades
Conclusion
A Global Britain, joined with the US, can meet the world's toughest challenges

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson greets US President Joe Biden during arrivals at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, on November 1, 2021. Photo by Alastair Grant/Pool via Reuters.

During his first overseas visit in June, President Joe Biden affirmed with Prime Minister Boris Johnson a relationship without equal anywhere in the world. The closest of partners and the greatest of allies, the United Kingdom and the United States are unparalleled in their shared commitment to defend the rule of law and sustain cooperation that is critical for global stability and prosperity.

We continue to build on the aspirations first laid out in the Atlantic Charter, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill eighty years ago, and affirm a partnership that brings our two nations together to tackle the imminent threats of climate change and pandemics; to set the course for global leadership through our unstinting commitment to multilateralism through forums such as the United Nations (UN) Security Council and NATO; and to contribute to international peace and security with our world-class diplomats, armed forces, and intelligence agencies.

Together, we defend our shared values across the full spectrum of issues-defense and security, human rights, a fairer economy, and a healthier world-to help improve our citizens' lives.

Strengthening that close relationship while also planning ambitiously and comprehensively for the future, this year's Integrated Review (IR), which was announced by the prime minister in March, saw the United Kingdom set out a combined foreign-policy, economic-policy, and national-security approach.

The IR details a global role for the United Kingdom in promoting liberal democratic nations and open markets in open societies. We believe we can answer "Global Britain in a Competitive Age: The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy," UK Cabinet Office, March 2021 (revised July 2021), the Dean Acheson question-we will be a stronger, more secure, prosperous, and resilient union. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy. We will be a problem-solving and burden-sharing nation, putting our shoulder to the wheel with a wide range of international partners to help solve some of the world's most pressing challenges. Unlike previous reviews, the current IR addresses national security, foreign policy, science and technology, development, and our approach to the global economy. It sets out how we will use the full spectrum of our national levers to shape and inform policy, projecting ahead to 2030.

The IR's integrated, whole-of-government approach provides actionable steps to tackle challenges and seize opportunities, ensuring that we're prepared to face the threats of the future and that the United Kingdom is fit for a more competitive world.

Facing an increasingly adversarial world

Historically, the United States and the United Kingdom have collectively overcome many global challenges. The complexity of the challenges we face today are on a scale never before seen, as shown in the recent case of Afghanistan. The United Kingdom's approach to these challenges is driven by four fundamental changes as outlined in the IR:

1. Geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts: China's increasing assertiveness on the world stage, as well as the Indo-Pacific region's strategic importance for global prosperity and security, pose a new set of geopolitical challenges.

2. Systemic competition: Intensifying standoffs between states and with non-state actors are testing the boundaries of war and peace, manifested by a growing contest over setting international rules and norms alongside more brazen efforts by authoritarian states and malign actors to deliberately target vulnerabilities within democratic systems. While Russia will remain the most acute direct threat to the United Kingdom and its interests, China represents a systemic challenge to our security, prosperity, and values.

3. Rapid technological change: Digitalisation is reshaping how our societies and economies function, in addition to transforming the relationship between states and between citizens, as well as between the state and the private sector.

4. Transnational challenges: Impending threats from climate change, global health risks such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, illicit finance, organised crime, and terrorism all threaten our shared security and prosperity.

Keeping our strategic edge

Rightly, there is much discussion about burden-sharing and how countries are playing their part to make the world safer and more secure for everyone. The United Kingdom is determined to keep shouldering our share of the weight. Though home to less than 1 percent of the world's population, we have the second-largest aid budget in the Group of Seven (G7) nations as a percentage of our national income. The fifth-largest economy, we are the leading European ally in NATO and hold a seat as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. We recognise that we must do more to ensure that we maintain our strategic edge. Through the IR, the United Kingdom will set about achieving objectives in four key sectors:

1. Science and technology

The United Kingdom is already ranked as one of the top four most innovative countries in the world according to the Global Innovation Index 2020. We maintain a world-leading research base, with the UK contributing 14 percent of the world's most highly cited academic publications."The Queen's Speech 2021," UK Cabinet Office, May 2021, "Written Evidence Submitted by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy," UK Parliament, September 2020, https://dera.ioe.ac.uk//37909/?. Greater investment in scientific research and technological development is central to igniting the UK's economic recovery, creating new jobs, boosting productivity, and improving people's quality of life. https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/11596/pdf/.

Our long-term objectives are to invest in the science and research that will deliver economic growth and societal benefits for decades to come and build the foundations for the industries of tomorrow. That is why we are investing twenty billion dollars in research and development across government through next year, making R&D the center of our recovery from the impact of COVID-19 and enabling us to "build back better" for a greener, healthier, and more resilient UK.Amanda Solloway, "Government Response to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee Report 'Catapults: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Industry,'" UK Parliament, April 2021, https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5374/documents/53872/default.

2. International order of the future

Our second objective is to prioritise collaboration with partners to reinvigorate the international institutions, laws, and norms that enable open societies and economies to flourish. This will help our citizens and others around the world realise the full benefits of democracy, free trade, and international cooperation."Global Britain in a Competitive Age" summary page, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-britain-in-a-competitive-age-the-integrated-review-of-security-defence-development-and-foreign-policy?.

In a more contested world, it is vital for the United Kingdom to renew our commitment to be a force for good by supporting open societies, continuing to support the United States' focus on working with allies and partners, and remaining a leading international development donor to help achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Protecting human rights, defending democracy, and showcasing our determination to deliver multilateral solutions to global challenges are also imperative.Above all, it means standing up for our values on the international stage and being prepared to defend the freedoms that are integral to our national identity: the freedom to live, think, and choose.
Dame Karen Pierce is the United Kingdom's ambassador to the United States. She was previously the UK's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations.
3. Security and defence

As outlined in the Defence Command Paper, the United Kingdom will invest more than $33 billion to reform and renew our Armed Forces and $118 billion over the next four years on equipment and support to reorganise and re-equip the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, and Strategic Command to deliver an integrated high-tech force fit for the threats of the future. Apart from the United States, the UK will be the only NATO country that can bring to bear nuclear, cyber, precision-strike weapons, and fifth-generation strike aircraft across the NATO region. We will seek to make it more difficult and costly for malign actors-both state and non-state-to achieve the effects they desire, while also placing a greater emphasis than before on the Indo-Pacific, reflecting its importance to many of the most pressing global challenges in the coming decade."Global Britain in a Competitive Age.

4. Resilience

The UK is building resilience for global health by being one of the largest donors to the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, including a $750 million commitment to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment to support access to vaccines for up to ninety-two developing countries.

The United Kingdom is building resilience against climate change through the prime minister's Ten-Point Plan, which sets out a road map for the country to lead the world into a new Green Industrial Revolution by mobilising a $16.5 billion government investment to support up to 250,000 green jobs, accelerating our path to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and laying the foundations for building back a greener, more sustainable economy.

Global Britain and the United States

The IR is a deliberately ambitious plan. Building on the foundations of a Global Britain already leading the way, it sets out a vision for a more dynamic and ambitious role alongside the United States and our allies to tackle evolving global challenges and set a direction for a safer, healthier world.

Cooperation between our two countries is by no means limited to our governments. Our people are connected in endless ways: from the 1.4 million Americans who work for British companies to Americans who consume British popular culture; from our citizens who have collaborated on more than twenty joint Nobel prizes to tourists and business travellers itching to get moving between our two countries again.
Topic: Rollout of the Integrated Review Grade: B "The fundamental priority should be getting the UK-EU relationship right."
Global Britain: An American review

Introduction

What is happening to Britain in the world? Since 2016, when Brexit began with the United Kingdom's shock "leave" vote to quit the European Union, the conversation has become almost impossible to have without entering into a fierce and polemical debate surrounding the country's departure. Britain's foreign policy debate, once a calm corner of Westminster for researchers, former senior officials, and engaged politicians, turned as bitterly divided as the rest of the country between so-called Remainers and Leavers. Emotional, vituperative, and campaigning rhetoric established itself as the norm amid Britain's struggle to negotiate its exit.
Topic: Rollout of the Integrated Review Grade: B+ "The policy focus should now be on implementation."
Brexit and the tempestuous debate that followed did not only divide London: it was apparent, from a vantage point at the Atlantic Council, that it divided Washington too. After Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory on the heels of the UK's June vote, it became commonplace inside the Beltway for Democrats to see themselves as Remainers and for Republicans to see themselves as Leavers-especially as Trump frequently announced himself a Brexit supporter. Eclipsed in all this has been cool-headed, nonpartisan, strategic analysis about Britain's position in the world or how it is remaking its foreign policy after cutting itself loose from the bloc. Events, especially the new AUKUS defense agreement between Australia, the United States, and the UK, are now outpacing the conversation.

This is the debate that the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council is engaging in with this project, "Global Britain: An American Review." The project began as a series of expert roundtables and think tank briefings from senior UK officials seeking to explain Britain's new agenda as outlined in Global Britain in a Competitive Age, the country's March 2021 integrated review of security, defense, development, and foreign policy. Following these briefings invited participants and colleagues engaged in a review of post-Brexit British foreign policy. This brief brings together the voices of fifteen experts from five US institutions, each offering a review, a grade, and a policy suggestion for Her Majesty's government (HMG).

This project represents one of the first scholarly efforts to assess what Washington thinks of the Global Britain agenda: from its broadest strokes to the nuts and bolts of its various components, from climate and trade to cybersecurity and ties with China. It seeks to advance the conversation in London and Washington about Britain in the world after the divisions of the referendum and exit, with clear-eyed and frank analysis concerning China, COVID-19, AUKUS, Afghanistan, trade deals, and grand strategy, not only for Britain but also the United States. We hope this brief, "Global Britain: An American Review," can play a part in a new transatlantic debate: where next?

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Europe Center
Atlantic Council

September 27, 2021
Topic: Rollout of the Integrated Review Grade: B UK must "set priorities from the IR and defense command paper."
The integrated review lays out a promising vision for how the UK can continue to play a critical role in global affairs. The review is clear-eyed about the challenges, outlining a competition between democracy and authoritarian systems, the need to reverse austerity when it comes to defense, and the importance of the IndoPacific region, climate, and new technology. In fact, what is striking is not just the alignment with the strategic outlook of the United States but with the European Union's as well. The key question is whether Washington, London, and, critically, Brussels can address the threats and challenges outlined in the strategic review in a unified way.

The review gets a B (and not an A) because it is disappointing when it comes to UK-EU relations. Ultimately, there will be no so-called Global Britain if it is consumed with seemingly petty fights with the EU. As much as London will enjoy needling Paris over the AUKUS submarine affair, a further rupture in UK-EU relations will only distract Britain from its global role. This was evident at the Group of Seven (G7) meeting. Despite the UK being front and center on the world stage, a dispute over sausages and Northern Ireland distracted from an otherwise productive summit. Thus the fundamental priority should be getting the UK-EU relationship right and rebuilding trust. Doing so would position the UK to be both a global leader and a leader in Europe. The UK can be nimble and push the often slow and plodding EU to act-whether in responding to Russian abuses, China's crackdown on Hong Kong, or climate change. Thus for Global Britain to work, the UK will need to stop pretending the EU is irrelevant and treat it as the critical global actor and partner that it is.
Topic: The Integrated Approach Grade: A- "Keep the IR at the forefront of public consciousness."
The UK's integrated review reads like the natural outgrowth of Brexit. It seizes on qualities like nimbleness and flexibility: "to move swiftly and with greater agility [as] the determining characteristics of the UK's foreign policy following our departure from the EU." Self-assured and confident, the integrated review marries Britain's existing strengths to global ambitions.

It also covers new terrain that captures the spirit of the times. There are dozens of references to biodiversity and long discussions of climate policy. Most of all, the integrated review focuses on the UK as a technology superpower. Already "a world leader in applied innovation and transformative tech," it identifies advanced technologies as "the foundation of our approach." As in the United States, this has tempted traditionally free-market Britain to consider industrial policy and "accept more risk in our public investments [to] back breakthrough technologies." Relatedly, London also is betting its growing defense budget on a high-tech fighting force of tomorrow (while shrinking the size of the British Army).

Herein lies a seeming incongruity. The command paper complementing the integrated review calls for cuts to the army while the review identifies Russia as "the most acute direct threat to the UK." In this field, like in all others, London hopes to fill the gap through increased agility (and lethality).
Topic: NATO Grade: A Highlight "investments in cyber, missile, and nuclear capabilities" and "commit to increased presence on the ground in Europe."
Finally, in what has captured headlines, the integrated review calls for a tilt toward Asia, where the UK holds high hopes for the relationship with India and other members of the Commonwealth, and recognizes the conundrum of Beijing. "China and the UK both benefit from bilateral trade and investment," the review argues, "but China also presents the biggest state-based threat to the UK's economic security."

All in all, the integrated review is forward-looking and futuristic, and deserves good marks. The policy focus should now be on implementation: to ensure government is fit for purpose. It is one thing to call for agility, but another to demonstrate it. As Sino-American competition unfolds, the UK will need cross-Whitehall mechanisms, overseen by the National Security Council (NSC), to execute the integrated review, but also make adjustments when necessary.
Topic: Cyber Capacity Building Grade: B+ "To build resilience domestically and abroad, the UK must build on existing alliances and partnerships."
HMG deserves credit for a smooth rollout of the integrated review and defense command paper, Defence in a Competitive Age. The review is comprehensive and contains a good analysis of the security environment. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also succeeded in weaving a persistent (if not entirely credible) Global Britain narrative throughout his meeting with President Joe Biden, the G7, and the NATO Summit. There was significant engagement with the US government throughout the integrated review process, such that Washington was onboard with the public messaging upon its release. The United States craves and needs a globally minded ally that is willing to be active in the world, so is willing to embrace and temporarily support the UK's ambition. Examples of this include the recent AUKUS security agreement between the United States, UK, and Australia to provide subs for Canberra, and the January 2021 US-UK agreement to form a joint carrier strike group around US Marine Corps F-35s and the UK's Queen Elizabeth 2. Nevertheless, doubts remain as to how realistic the Global Britain vision is over the long term given the decreasing size of the UK armed forces, anticipated gaps in key enabling capabilities (e.g., strategic lift), and the impact of COVID-19 on UK finances. The UK's diminished influence in EU economic, trade, and technology policies post-Brexit also is a concern as these, combined, will be a major tool in meeting the China challenge. The rollout gets an overall grade of B. Regarding policy actions the UK can take, it should set priorities from the integrated review and defense command paper; clarify roles and responsibilities within HMG; and address concerns about resourcing. For example, there is concern that, because much of the budget is needed to fill existing holes in UK defense, few new capabilities will be fielded before the second half of the decade. Finally, there is more work to be done in rationalizing how a force posture that is persistently deployed and distributed around the globe still allows the UK to lead in NATO on the Russia fight.
Topic: Climate Change and Biodiversity Grade: B "The government should increase financing to help vulnerable populations."
The integrated review outlines an ambitious agenda for post-Brexit Britain. The new strategic framework sets out four objectives for Global Britain: establishing science and technology prowess, shaping open international systems, ensuring security and defense both in the UK and overseas, and ensuring resilience against risk in a changing world.

Many of the priorities in the review will not come as a surprise-climate change, international trade, NATO, science and tech investment, critical infrastructure-but the approach is unique among strategic reviews. The priority is on integration and collective approaches: among allies and partners, across the government, and throughout sectors and policy areas. We are now in an era of blurred lines, where concerns like climate change or COVID-19 transcend borders, national infrastructure and economic security are national security issues, domestic and foreign policy are intertwined, and urgent crises require faster, more nimble decision-making. An integrated approach is the right one-and if implemented correctly, it can be a model for other democracies wrestling with these problems.

The integrated review rollout merits an A-. It's a bold, ambitious undertaking that-while not comprehensive-provides a vision for a post-Brexit Britain that remains active and engaged with allies and partners in solving global crises. There is still much to be done, as the UK implements this strategic framework, and much of it will require the buy-in of British citizens. The government should keep the integrated review at the forefront of public consciousness in the UK, articulating the progress of the review and its impact through traditional and social media, with a focus on telling success stories and providing action items to citizens to engage with their own national security (see the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency's 2018 brochure titled "If Crisis or War Comes" as one possible model for giving citizens a stake in their own security as part of an integrated approach).
Topic: UK-EU Defense Cooperation Grade: B- "Insulate the foreign policy and defense relationship from frictions arising in other domains."
The UK's commitment to NATO remains at the top level: A. Though the Indo-Pacific tilt will necessitate defense-posture adjustments, the UK reaffirmed its commitment in the integrated review to critical efforts like the NATO Readiness Initiative and the Enhanced Forward Presence mission. NATO also benefits from the UK's continued focus on freedom of navigation in the critical Black Sea as well as the UK's ongoing support for Ukraine. As the United States strategically prioritizes the Indo-Pacific region and countering the threat of China, the demands could grow for Britain to increase its focus on deterring Russia in Europe. Even though the integrated review has reaffirmed, on paper, the UK's focus on Russia as its primary strategic threat, London will cut certain conventional capabilities seen as integral to a land-based conflict including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and overall army end strength (i.e., personnel count). These cuts will lead to a smaller UK fighting force and could also lead to a less credible or capable force in the face of Russian aggression in Europe. The UK should articulate how its necessary cuts will enhance deterrence of Russia, including highlighting its investments in cyber, missile, and nuclear capabilities, and additionally should commit to increased presence on the ground in Europe to enhance conventional deterrence.

The recent integrated review of the UK, which has a positive track record with cyber capacity building, highlights the importance of capacity building and its links to cyber diplomacy. While workforce development remains a government priority, it must be reciprocated by industry. The UK's ability to achieve its objectives will ultimately be determined by its ability to build a robust cyber workforce, and it will take more than just government to make this a reality.

The UK has devoted resources to capacity building, with a special focus on Africa and the Indo-Pacific region, tying these to broader diplomatic efforts. While this is a positive development, the UK will have to balance this with capacity-building efforts within existing frameworks, such as the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network, NATO, and the European Union. The cyber workforce of tomorrow will be international: to build resilience domestically and abroad, the UK must build on existing alliances and partnerships.
Topic: UK-EU Relations Grade: B+ "Some high-level summitry is in order."
Tackling the dual challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss is the UK's leading international priority, as stated in the integrated review. Though it lacks specific economic and diplomatic policy actions, the strategic document gives a broad overview of how these two significant problem sets will shape the UK's engagement with global partners across the spectrum of finance, emissions reductions, resilience, and science and technology, as they work together to solve more complex transnational security threats induced by a changing natural environment.

The UK has emerged as a global climate leader through an ambitious suite of domestic policies, notably included in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and in the targets outlined in its nationally determined contribution, its pledge as a Paris Agreement signatory. In addition to being a leader in the shift away from coal-fired power to clean energy sources like offshore wind and nuclear power, the UK also is foremost in the deployment and adoption of advanced technologies, such as carbon capture and hydrogen production, and setting bold objectives for the electrification of the transportation sector. However, in a global context, the recent dramatic cuts in international aid are at odds with the UK's ambition to fight climate change and extreme poverty. The government should increase financing to help vulnerable populations that already bear the highest human and economic costs of global warming.
Topic: US-UK Relations Grade: B+ "Keep Brexit debates with the EU as constructive as possible."
The integrated review was a good sign: Global Britain means London is not turning its back on Europe. The absence of a foreign policy and defense framework in the December 2020 EU-UK agreements was certainly a missed opportunity for close collaboration. However, the review provides an optimistic vision of Britain's relationship with Europe and opens the door somewhat for renewed cooperation. The language, notably on pages 21 and 72, is careful yet provides a hook to expand on: "cooperate with the EU on matters of security and defense as independent partners, where this is in our interest." Key bilateral European relationships, notably with France (see pages 60 and 77) and Germany (page 61), also are emphasized.

As argued in Toward a Future EU-UK Relationship in Foreign Policy and Defense, an Atlantic Council report, the EU and the UK have much to gain in working together on foreign policy and defense. They still share the same strategic environment and face the same challenges, which might require deploying together. Cooperation on capability development also entails a deep network between British and European industry.

While a comprehensive agreement is probably still further down the road, the relationship can be sustained and even built up through a network of bilateral cooperation and ad hoc formats, from the European intervention initiative to the Joint Expeditionary Force and the E3 group (France, Germany, and the UK). Operations alongside European partners including the British deployment to Mali (as part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA), are a good way of working together and maintaining those ties.

In future it would be wise for the UK and the EU to try to insulate the foreign policy and defense relationship from frictions arising in other domains. The AUKUS deal has strained the relationship with France and raised further questions about the UK's European positioning. Building on linguistic hooks for European cooperation in the integrated review is therefore more necessary than ever. In particular, maintaining familiarity between officials and ensuring strategic understanding, for instance through track 1.5 (i.e., back channel) discussions, will be essential to lay the groundwork for a close-knit relationship.
Topic: Global Finance Grade: B "Focus on being an intermediator of capital, not money."
The release of Britain's integrated review, aptly titled Global Britain in a Competitive Age, marked a post-Brexit milestone. It set a necessarily ambitious agenda for charting a new course outside the limiting strictures of the European Union.

Still, glaringly absent from the review is any mention of how to approach rebuilding bridges with Brussels. While it is understandable that the initial focus would be to find alternatives to previous arrangements, Britain must remember that above all, it remains a European power. Washington will continue to be obsessed with crafting a durable approach to China, and while Britain can and will play an important role in the Pacific theater, it should not lose sight of where both its immediate interests lie, and where it can exert greatest impact.

As emotions subside in the wake of the contentious AUKUS announcement, an opportunity exists for Britain to reinvent its relationship with the EU. Indeed, policy makers in Washington are likely to welcome efforts from London to rebuild a new and lasting security arrangement with the Continent as its own focus inexorably drifts east.
Topic: Anti-Kleptocracy Initiatives Grade: A (innovation) + E (enforcement) = C "Britain must summon the political will and resources needed to massively strengthen enforcement of its own existing laws."
The US-UK relationship is on a decent footing, and US officials should be pleased with the UK's alignment on the Biden administration's priorities.

The G7 summit and Johnson's recent White House visit both provided an opportunity for Biden and Johnson to showcase their ability to lead on global challenges. The UK will host climate change talks in Glasgow, known as COP26, and the integrated review featured combatting climate change prominently in line with the Biden team's increased focus on the green transition. Britain's support for protesters in Hong Kong and a joint US-UK charter against authoritarian influence also reveals an increasingly firm posture against China from the strategic ambivalence of previous UK governments. Finally, the surprise AUKUS deal fully aligns Britain with the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.

On the other hand, the consequences of Brexit will be one of the biggest uncertainties for US-UK relations. AUKUS aside, the United States is unlikely to step in the middle of UK-EU rows over trade. The Johnson government also should be concerned about the politics surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol, given the UK's departure agreement with Brussels, and US concerns in particular. The issue is carefully watched in the halls of Congress, the State Department, and the Oval Office, and Biden himself directly warned Johnson against upsetting the balance in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, given the way Biden played down prospects for a free trade agreement-a UK priority for its US engagement, as identified in the integrated review-British policy makers should be realistic about what to expect from the United States on areas of free trade.

To make a Global Britain's US relationship a success, it should keep Brexit debates with the EU as constructive as possible and carefully manage the situation in Northern Ireland to protect the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
Topic: International Trade Policy Grade: B "The UK is well-positioned to shape how Western powers navigate the often fragile line between national security and national economic interest."
In the post-Brexit environment, the UK is attempting to be a responsible stakeholder in the global financial system-while not only maintaining the City of London's centrality as a money market but expanding its importance as an intermediator of global capital. Can these goals be met at the same time? The division of labor between London and New York has traditionally been a money market versus a capital market. In other words, New York's market is focused on the funding of real assets such as corporate bonds and stocks, whereas London is the market for money itself. It is that money that funds the New York market. London had two advantages in this division of labor. First, it sat between the United States and the European Union (and still does), and was able to work in both markets. Second, the common law courts were particularly well suited to conducting international legal arbitrage. This latter capability also is tied to offshore, low-tax jurisdictions in overseas territories. Brexit removes the first of these advantages, which requires the UK to lean on the second of these advantages to sustain London's competitiveness. In other words, regulate even less. There are two problems: it is inimical to responsible stewardship of the international financial system, and will put the UK at odds with both the United States and the European Union.

Moreover, the European markets are themselves becoming more sophisticated. This is particularly true of the vaunted "green bonds" that UK bankers claim to have pioneered, but are now more often issued in Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Afterall, these are actually capital-market instruments. This means the UK's long-term advantage will be network effects and human capital in the money markets. However, if one were to venture into futurology, governments will likely have to tamp down on international flows a bit, making such a role more difficult. The UK should focus on switching its role from being an intermediator of money to being one of capital-to stimulate internal production rather than global flows. That would require a large state-led investment regime that may well disquiet the Johnson government. It also means reorienting the US-UK relationship from one that sees security as an exercise in hard power to a joint process of economic world building. Creating that world means signing up for a global development regime and accepting the Biden administration's push for a global minimum tax.
Topic: International Trade Policy Grade: A (effort) + D (strategic perspective) = C+ "Focus on implementing the TCA."

To date, there are no signs of radical thinking about the UK as a steward of the global financial system. Given the challenges, though, the posture rates a B.

The UK undoubtedly has one of the strongest anti-money laundering and anti-corruption regimes in the world, on paper at least. It also has generally done a good job of keeping anti-corruption efforts on the international agenda, engaging partners to promote vital reforms such as corporate transparency.
Topic: The Indo-Pacific Tilt Grade: A- "The UK should harmonize transatlantic engagement in the Indo-Pacific."
Boris Johnson's apparent lack of interest relative to his predecessors, however, has delayed implementation of several key measures. Above all, repeated failure to enforce existing laws-not only effectively, but often at all-has been deeply harmful to the UK's credibility. In particular, the City of London and several overseas territories can still be counted among the most prominent and dangerous global money-laundering hubs.

As President Biden and the 117th Congress launch a rare bipartisan push to target foreign kleptocracy, the UK, despite its achievements, is in severe danger of being shown as a paper tiger by its closest ally. To retain global anti-corruption leadership and remain a trusted partner for the United States in its war against corruption, Britain must summon the political will and resources needed to massively strengthen enforcement of its own existing laws-or anticipate increasingly awkward conversations with US counterparts in the months to come.

Investors, regulators, and governments are waiting to see how the UK will ultimately define post-Brexit trade, particularly when it comes to financial services. The role of the City of London is in question, with many firms organizing a move to the Continent or at least hedging their bets. By not answering key questions regarding EU regulation and standards, the UK risks bifurcating global markets further as tensions with China rise, depressing domestic growth, and reaping fewer benefits from any potential flexibility that Brexit provides.

In line with the integrated review and expanding legislative remit in the area, the UK is well-positioned to shape how Western powers navigate the often fragile line between national security and national economic interest. That means helping to define how to use defensive instruments such as investment security, export controls, and other market restrictions while not erecting trade barriers or impeding on fair global competition. Defending free markets and core national security equities (i.e., interests) do not have to be conflicting priorities.

The UK integrated review sets out an ambitious international trade agenda for the new, post-Brexit Britain: negotiate trade agreements; reinvigorate the World Trade Organization; influence global rules and standards; promote exports; and create jobs across the UK. This agenda was reinforced by Britain's leadership of the G7 this year, which also saw a critical agreement on global tax emerge. The UK renegotiated many trade agreements inherited from its time in the EU, as well as gaining a new one with Australia. This is a remarkable achievement, especially given that four years ago the UK had no capability in trade negotiations at all.

This record cannot, however, be evaluated in a vacuum. The irony is that Britain's most important decision in trade policy-to leave the EU-has resulted in the creation of many new trade barriers between the UK and its biggest trading partner. Is that a recipe for leadership in creating an open global economy? The challenges facing British fishing, the cumbersome creation of a UK equivalent of the CE trademark (signaling conformity with regulations), and the perils of paperwork faced by small British exporters, all demonstrate the British government's willingness to sacrifice free trade on the altar of party politics. Britain's new trading partners must be watching the constant reinterpretations of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) with trepidation. In part because of uncertainties over the TCA, the UK has failed so far to achieve a US-UK free trade agreement and is unlikely to see one anytime soon. Perhaps most importantly, as a leading member of the largest trading bloc in the world, the UK would have had much more heft and influence on this critical agenda.

The integrated review's Indo-Pacific tilt is worthy of praise. It brings a clear-eyed vision of both the Indo-Pacific's strategic importance and the UK's role to play in the region. The biggest feat of Britain's Indo-Pacific tilt is of course the AUKUS deal. The deal deepens Britain's alignment with a US focus on China, brings likely lucrative contracts to build Australia's nuclear submarines, and even potentially allows British subs to base in Australia for extended deployments. Cooperation with other regional allies is also crucial to the success of Britain's Indo-Pacific tilt, and the HMS Queen Elizabeth 2 participating in joint exercises and stopping in Japan, for example, are welcome signs of intensified military engagement.

On trade, Britain has made some progress on the integrated review's objectives. It became an ASEAN Dialogue Partner and concluded a trade deal with Japan and one in principle with Australia. Talks on Britain's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership are also set to begin in the fall. Britain, however, will still need trade agreements with New Zealand and India, in particular, to be successful.

The Indo-Pacific tilt deserves an A- and not an A for its framing of Europe's role. While identifying France and Germany as partners, the integrated review defines its ambitions relative to Europe's, declaring Britain's goal to be "the European partner with the broadest and most integrated presence." Treating its European neighbors as competitors instead of natural partners who share similar interests will only diminish Britain's effectiveness. Instead, the UK should harmonize transatlantic engagement in the Indo-Pacific. It should propose engaging Indo-Pacific partners in a Quad +2 format with France as a sign that Britain is global, independent, but cooperative with its neighbors.

Conclusion: Two difficult questions

The expert reactions in this piece show a higher confidence in Global Britain from the United States than might be expected at this juncture. Across defense, diplomacy, global finance, and international cooperation, Global Britain receives passing-if not excelling-marks.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the British Embassy Washington. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Atlantic Council and do not necessarily reflect the views of Her Majesty's Government. All views expressed are the authors' own.

It's time to put away the wounds of Brexit: an ambitious, confident, and outward-looking Britain is in the interest of the European Union and the United States. Yet at the same time, as shown by the fallout with France over the AUKUS deal and the crisis in Afghanistan, it is important not to create new ones. As the United States turns to engage Global Britain, two questions about priorities and trust remain: one for Washington and another, more difficult one for London.

While the decision of the United States to double down on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region with the UK and Australia through the AUKUS deal has significant strategic value, the fact that it damaged relations with France is a grave misstep. Washington must ask itself this question: is there value in elevating one European relationship at the expense of another in the Indo-Pacific region? The correct answer is no-rather, the United States should find ways to promote both Britain and France in the region, maximizing their unique advantages while prioritizing improvements in the relationship between the two. As a first step, the United States should quickly move to promote Britain and France as observers to the emerging Quad grouping in the region.

The Western alliance can hardly afford internal divisions. Both a Global Britain and a Global Europe are necessary to make it strong.

A more difficult question now remains for London: what of Britain's confidence in the United States? The uncertainty of this was revealed in rather brutal fashion by the withdrawal crisis in Afghanistan.

In the House of Commons on August 18, former Prime Minister Theresa May, a member of Parliament (MP), called the Taliban takeover a "major setback," saying: "We boast about Global Britain, but where is Global Britain in the streets of Kabul?" Tom Tugendhat, MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Commons, said in his own address that the UK can set out a vision with European partners "to make sure that we are not dependent on a single ally." Though this review shows confidence in Britain's ability to be global, it did not address Britain's ability to define and pursue its international objectives independent of the United States. In the case of Afghanistan, the UK tried to influence the situation without success: along with Italy and Turkey, the UK advocated that a NATO coalition remain in place, but was unable to sway Washington from the withdrawal.

Both AUKUS and Afghanistan demonstrate that Global Britain is an incomplete project- there is still work to be done as it transforms from rhetoric to reality. As London considers a future in which there will be more crises beyond direct competition with China, a future in which Washington may be disengaged from London's own priorities, HMG needs to ask itself how to engage Europe-and in particular France-to secure its interests without Washington. The path to a truly successful Global Britain, in an uncertain security environment across Eurasia, North Africa, and the Indo-Pacific, must inevitably run through Paris, Brussels, and Berlin and will require reconciliation.

In practical terms, how can the UK and the United States move forward from here together? London should take President Macron's call for proposals to reboot the relationship seriously, and Washington should firmly encourage it to do so. Bolstering more autonomous allies should be a key objective for US policy makers.

September 27, 2021

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What is happening to Britain in the world? Since 2016, when Brexit began with the United Kingdom's shock "leave" vote to quit the European Union, the conversation has become almost impossible to have without entering into a fierce and polemical debate surrounding the country's departure.

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LONDON - For nearly 150 years, the United Kingdom's embassy to Japan occupied a prime piece of Tokyo real estate across the river from the Imperial Palace. The compound weathered a host of tragedies, including a break in diplomatic relations during World War II - and a 1923 earthquake.

What it didn't survive - at least not completely - was a cash crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to merge the U.K.'s departments in charge of foreign and development policy. In October, the British Foreign Office sold nearly half the embassy grounds to the Mitsubishi Estate Group, using the profits to pay for solar panels for the rest of the compound plus upgrades to the embassy in New Delhi.

The Tokyo sale - which Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has described as part of a "huge mistake" - shows how financial constraints and plummeting morale are forcing Britain's diplomatic officials to make increasingly difficult decisions as they chart a path for post-Brexit Britain.

The belt-tightening at the Foreign Office started before Johnson's premiership, but has worsened to the point some in Westminster believe it's strangling the department just as it's being called upon to lead the U.K.'s international charge. In addition to taking back control of domestic policy, Johnson saw Brexit as an opportunity to re-engage with the wider world, especially the British Commonwealth.

Unshackled from Brussels' foreign policy, Johnson's newly liberated Global Britain would be free to seek out new alliances in the Indo-Pacific, manage individual relationships with EU countries and strike new trade deals across the world.

"The U.K.'s foreign policy is key to the success of Brexit, because Global Britain is very closely linked to it," said Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank. "It's also important because our relationships with our closest neighbors and allies have become foreign relationships again."

The trouble came when it was time to pay for it.

Money matters

To help the foreign service achieve his aims, Johnson merged its traditional home, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), with the Department for International Development (DfID), the organization responsible for overseas development assistance.

The idea was that the new entity - the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) - would be able to leverage the money the U.K. spends on foreign aid in service of its diplomatic and security goals.

The additional portfolios, however, did not come with a bigger check from the Treasury - quite the opposite. Citing a need to balance the books after the pandemic, Johnson cut funding for the new department by 5 percent, compared with 2019-2020. He also announced the U.K. would no longer try to honor its commitment to spend 0.7 percent of its Gross National Income (GNI) on international development, instead reducing the number to 0.5 percent until the U.K. economy recovers.

The tightened finances have been felt across the organization. The Tokyo sale is just one example of efforts to raise funds for refurbishments and upgrades in some of its posts overseas, including Washington, Paris and Beijing. The Bangkok embassy, for example, was sold in 2018 for £420 million, funding the purchase of three floors in a modern tower block for the new embassy, and improvements elsewhere.

The U.K. has withdrawn from programs in areas seen as less key to its national interest | Pool photo by Oli Scarff via Getty Images)

The department argues that it's maximizing value for taxpayers' money, but some Conservative MPs counter that it's undermining Britain's prestige in the world. Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said selling embassies, especially the Tokyo operation, "sends the wrong signal" and seems contradictory at a time when Britain is reaching out to like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China's increasing assertiveness.

"We need to show confidence and strength," he added.

Replacing historic, imponent buildings with smaller, more business-like embassies has an impact on perceptions, a former minister said. "Not everyone wants to shop at Primark. People like style and projection of power, and our embassies did this."

Truss has acknowledged the FCDO's financial constraints in the House of Commons, but said she regretted the selling of the embassies, adding: "I certainly don't want to see any more of that happening."

Along with the U.K.'s formal diplomatic presence, the British Council, its main cultural and diplomatic institution abroad, is also feeling the pinch. The organization is struggling to cope with a loss of commercial income caused by the coronavirus lockdowns and a decline in the government's grant budget compared with the years before the pandemic. As a result, it is cutting jobs and closing offices in 20 countries.

The British Council has not disclosed the number of planned redundancies, but the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union said in a petition that "15 to 20% of staff will be cut from the organisation" - with some areas losing up to a third of their personnel. British Council employees took industrial action over two days in late March.

"Rushing through restructuring, with little or no political or public scrutiny or oversight will be a disaster for public spending and for Britain's global soft power influence, which supports the government's Global Britain agenda," the union said.

When it comes to budget cuts, the biggest impact has been to development assistance, where the drop in spending has coincided with a shifting of resources toward countries where the U.K.'s development, security and economic interests align, such East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.

As a result, the U.K. has withdrawn from programs in areas seen as less key to its national interest. Spending on conflict prevention work in northern Africa and the Middle East was cut by some £90 million, and programs in Syria suffered a 69 percent cut in 2021-22, according to the National Audit Office, the U.K.'s public spending watchdog.

The Treasury forecasts the aid budget could be restored by 2024-25 depending on the performance of the U.K. economy, but some officials say that given the merger, the timing couldn't have been worse.

"To lose one-third of your budget as you're trying to organize a new department of state, I think added massively to the problem," said Simon McDonald, a former permanent undersecretary at the FCDO.

Staffing counts

Compounding the FCDO's difficulties is a flurry of changes at the top of the organization taking place even as the workload piles up given the U.K.'s global ambitions, the need to manage relations with the EU and, more recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"The department is so unwieldy right now," an FCDO official said. "It's like three departments shoved into one, with all the responsibilities of DfID and [the Department for Exiting the European Union] DExEU and now a war."

Turnover of the Foreign Office's top political jobs has been so quick that British diplomats posted overseas complain they struggle to liaise with London.

Truss is the fourth successive Conservative politician to serve as foreign secretary in the last four years. In the last seven months, three ministers for Europe have cycled through the government, leading to some within Truss' team to worry that some Tories see the department as a ladder to be climbed quickly to reach more media-friendly and senior government positions.

They argue that ministers need to stay for three or four years to build relationships with counterparts overseas if they are to make a difference.

Meanwhile, civil servants across the organization are on edge, after they were informed by a message on the department's intranet in January that there could be staff cuts of up to 10 percent. Johnson ruled this out as "fake news," but a long-delayed publication of a workforce plan has done little to boost morale.

Truss told MPs in March that the workforce plan will focus not on cuts but on redeploying officials toward work on economic security, tackling disinformation and forging alliances to develop technologies such as quantum or artificial intelligence. But her efforts have done little to dispel staff concerns.

A spokesperson for the PCS union said they expect a voluntary redundancy scheme to be followed by compulsory dismissals because not enough personnel will want to leave. "Morale is incredibly low, and there's a feeling of understaffing in some areas, with people being shifted from crisis to crisis," the spokesperson said.

Incomplete merger

Part of the reason the FCDO has been unable to take full advantage of the benefits of Johnson's merger is that it remains incomplete, with tensions persisting between the two teams.

"There has been a culture clash of these two departments, very different in culture, one where at this point, I think, the DfID wing has got the worst of it," said Bronwen Maddox, director of the Institute of Government think tank.

McDonald, who left the FCO weeks before the merger with DfID, argues that the new organization's board is now "huge" with two permanent secretaries and 10 directors general and said the "necessary rationalization" of top jobs is still pending.

"Money is needed in a merger because there has to be some sort of restructuring and that costs money," he said.

"The top of the new organization is in my judgment too big," he added, arguing that jobs needed to be shed "in order for a coherent new structure to emerge. As far as I can see, none of that is in the offing."

Stephanie Draper, chief executive of Bond, a network of more than 400 NGOs working in international development, warned of a "brain drain" of development staff at the FCDO, with at least 213 DfID officials reportedly having quit their jobs in the aftermath of the merger.

The British Embassy building in Kyiv, Ukraine | Alexey Furman/Getty Images

A long-delayed international development strategy for 2022-23, published Monday, sets out a target to reduce the proportion of British overseas aid allocated to multilateral bodies such as the United Nations from 40 percent of the total budget to 25 percent by 2025, but it's light on details regarding specific funding allocations. It also links the provision of aid to access for U.K. goods and services.

This means the strategy amounts to a "double whammy against the poor," said Sarah Champion, Labour chair of the Commons international development committee.

An FCDO spokesperson said: "We keep our structures under constant review to ensure the department can tackle the biggest issues facing the U.K. and the international community as effectively and efficiently as possible."

Despite the current troubles, not everybody is pessimistic about the long-term effects of the merger. Robin Niblett, who is stepping down as director of think tank Chatham House at the end of July, said the FCDO is in a stronger position after absorbing DfID.

"The last year, from what I understand, there has been a huge amount of disruption and destruction as a result of it," Niblett said. "But you've got to think about the long game."

Esther Webber contributed reporting.

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LONDON - For nearly 150 years, the United Kingdom's embassy to Japan occupied a prime piece of Tokyo real estate across the river from the Imperial Palace. The compound weathered a host of tragedies, including a break in diplomatic relations during World War II - and a 1923 earthquake.

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2007 - Springboks win the World Cup

South Africa defeats England 15-6 in the final to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup for the second time since 1994.

2009 - Archbishop Tutu receives Presidential Medal of Freedom from USA

Archbishop Desmond Tutu's historic accomplishments and efforts to promote peace in the world were formally recognized by the United States in 2009, when President Barack Obama named him to receive the nation's highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

2009 - Mandela Day launched worldwide

The United Nations officially declared 18 July Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009, recognising Mandela's "values and his dedication to the service of humanity." The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebrations in London's Hyde Park in 2008 when he said:

"It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It's in your hands now."

2010 - SA hosts the FIFA World Cup

As soccer fever gripped the nation and all eyes turned to us, the country was at a fever pitch by the time the first game was played. The country seemed to explode when in the first match, magic happened. In the 55th minute Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the first goal for South Africa and the crowd went wild!

2010 - Graça Machel Trust launched

Graça Machel established the Graça Machel Trust in 2010 as a Pan-African advocacy organisation focused on child health and nutrition, education, women's economic and financial empowerment, leadership and good governance.

2012 - Table Mountain named 7th Natural Wonder of the World

On 2 December 2012, Table Mountain was officially inaugurated as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

2013 - Nelson Mandela passes away

On 5 December, Nelson Mandela passed away at the age of 95 at his house in Houghton, Johannesburg .

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25 Unforgettable Moment's in SA's Democracy

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South Africa defeats England 15-6 in the final to win the 2007 Rugby World Cup for the second time since 1994. Archbishop Desmond Tutu's historic accomplishments and efforts to promote peace in the world were formally recognized by the United States in 2009, when President Barack Obama named him to receive the nation's highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.