Abstract
As a former imperial power, the British Government has retained a strong global perspective. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is an elite, highly regarded diplomatic service with rigorous standards for recruitment, training, and conduct. It has a distinctive culture—of pragmatism, realism, and commitment to a rules-based international order—that bears the imprint of what was once called “the Foreign Office mind.” The FCO faces significant challenges, however, including a sharply reduced budget, the transfer of key functions to other ministries, and the centralization of policy making. “Brexit” creates additional problems, and voices within the FCO and outside express deep concern about Britain’s ability to meet these challenges as “an island apart,” to borrow the title of a recent article in the British press.
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Notes
- 1.
For brief discussion, see Edward T. Corp, “Sir Eyre Crowe and the Administration of the Foreign Office, 1906–1914,” The Historical Journal 22, no. 2 (June 1979): 443–454.
- 2.
Frank Ashton-Gwatki. “Foreign Service Reorganization in the United Kingdom.” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944–) 22, no. 1 (1946): 57–74.
- 3.
T.G. Otte, The Foreign Office Mind: The Making of British Foreign Policy, 1865–1914 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 6 and 12.
- 4.
Sir Harold Nicolson, Diplomacy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963), 132–135.
- 5.
Ibid., 132. See also Sir Ernest Satow, A Guide to Diplomatic Practice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011; first published in 1917). 183–184; and Prime Minister William Gladstone’s letter to Queen Victoria, April 17, 1869, as cited in Nicolson, 137.
- 6.
The precise quote from his March 1, 1848 remarks in the House of Commons is, “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.” Quoted in William Safire, “Friends More than Interests,” February 7, 1991. New York Times.
- 7.
“Conservative Mass Meeting: a speech at Llandudno, 9 October 1948,” in Europe Unite: Speeches, 1947 & 1948 (London: Cassell, 1950), 416–418.
- 8.
David Sanders and David Patrick Houghton, Losing an Empire, Finding a Role: British Foreign Policy Since 1945 (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd edition, 2017), 1–11, esp. 1–3.
- 9.
Laurence Martin and John Garnett, British Foreign Policy: Challenges and Choices for the Twenty-First Century (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1997), 83–85.
- 10.
Tom Tugendhat, “Address to the Royal United Services Institute, May 29, 2018.” https://rusi.org/event/tom-tugendhat-defending-rules. Accessed November 28, 2018.
- 11.
Martin and Garnett, British Foreign Policy, 6–7.
- 12.
Otte, The Foreign Office Mind, 394–395. See also the critiques discussed at the end of this chapter, many of them coming from the FCO itself.
- 13.
Kenneth Waltz, Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1967), 7–8.
- 14.
“About Us.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office/about.
- 15.
“FCO Public Diplomacy: The Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012.” House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. January 26, 2011. Accessed October 24, 2016. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmfaff/581/58102.htm. According to a report released by the FCO, soft power is used to “describe governments’ ability ‘to get what (they) want through attraction rather than coercion or payments.’ Soft power ‘arises from the attractiveness of a country’s culture, political ideals, and policies. When (its) policies are seen as legitimate in the eyes of others, (its) soft power is enhanced.”
- 16.
“Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report and Accounts 2015–2016.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. July 20, 2016. Accessed October 24, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539413/FCO_Annual_Report_2016_ONLINE.pdf.
- 17.
Patrick Wintour. “Internal report slams culture in UK Foreign Office.” The Guardian. May 9, 2016. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/09/internal-report-slams-culture-in-uk-foreignoffice. See also “Future FCO” (London: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2016). Accessed January 26, 2019. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-fco-report.
- 18.
Brian Brady. “Foreign Office is beset by culture of timidity, say staff.” Independent. March 21, 2009. Accessed October 11, 2016. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foreign-office-is-beset-by-culture-of-timidity-saystaff-1651331.html.
- 19.
“A Short Guide to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office” (London: National Audit Office, October 2017), 4. https://www.nao.org.uk/report/a-short-guide-to-the-foreign-and-commonwealth-office/. Accessed January 26, 2019.
- 20.
Includes staff costs and expenditures on programs and consular services.
- 21.
Ibid.
- 22.
For the FCO budget during FY 2003/2004, we used currency rates reported from 2003.
- 23.
“Chapter 3: Comparative Data.” Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2003. Accessed October 24, 2016. http://www.esteri.it/MAE/doc/chapter3.pdf.
- 24.
Philip Hammond, “Government Response to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Report HC 605 of Session 2014–15.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. June 2015. Accessed November 15, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/435544/50038_Cm_9058_Gov_to_HC_Accessible_v0.2.pdf.
- 25.
Ibid.
- 26.
“Annual Report and Accounts.”
- 27.
“FCO Staff and Salary Data.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. July 21, 2016. Accessed September 17, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-office-staff-and-salary-data.
- 28.
“Further written evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.” UK Parliament. November 25, 2010. Accessed October 10, 2016. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmfaff/665/665we03.htm.
- 29.
The FCO defines generalists as “staff who rotate through a variety of roles” vs. specialists who “take up a specific role requiring specialist skills, i.e. research analyst or lawyer.” Due to the 2010 spending freeze, recruitment had been limited to specialist recruitment only through the Civil Service Fast Stream, however, recently the FCO has begun recruiting generalists at the A and B bands, in part due to criticisms that the Fast Stream system was too elitist. “Working for FCO.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Accessed September 17, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-office/about/recruitment.
- 30.
Ibid.
- 31.
“FCO Staff and Salary Data.”
- 32.
“Delivering Global Britain: FCO Skills,” HC 1254, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 28 November 2018, 10.
- 33.
Ibid.
- 34.
“Annual Report and Accounts.”
- 35.
Interviews at the FCO and with former senior British diplomats, London, October 29 and 30, 2018.
- 36.
“Civil Service Competency Framework: 2012–2017.” Civil Service Human Resources. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/436073/cscf_fulla4potrait_2013-2017_v2d.pdf; The “Competency Framework” provides ten key characteristics of a successful Civil Service employee: seeing the big picture, making effective decisions, changing and improving, leading and communicating, building capability for all, collaborating and partnering, achieving commercial outcomes, delivering value for money, managing a quality service, and delivering at pace. According to the report, this framework is used for recruitment and promotion considerations.
- 37.
“Prepare for Civil Service Online Test.” Job Test Prep. Accessed October 24, 2016. https://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/civil-service-online-test#e-tray-exercise; The Civil Service’s online testing consists of numerical and verbal reasoning, an abstract reasoning test, a situational judgment test (which tests the applicant’s potential responses to certain work scenarios), a personality exam, a Watson Glaser test (a multi-faceted exam that tests the applicant’s critical thinking skills), and an in-person assessment and interview at the Civil Service Assessment Centre. At the Centre, applicants spend a day completing a number of exercises, including a writing exam, further aptitude tests, presentations, role-playing work scenarios, and team building activities. Applicants may be asked to participate in several interviews, which include questions regarding their applications, qualifications, and the Civil Service Competency Framework.
- 38.
“A Short Guide.” See also Natalie Gil, “The Foreign Office Has Traditionally Been a Place for Eccentric Males.” The Guardian, 2014, accessed October 11, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2014/jun/18/foreign-officeeccentric-males-women-pay-gap.
- 39.
“Annual Report and Accounts.”
- 40.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Diversity and Equality Report 2014–15. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2015. Accessed September 17, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/450587/FFFCO827_Equality_Report_2015_v5.pdf.
- 41.
“Annual Report and Accounts.”
- 42.
“Future FCO,” 28.
- 43.
FCO, “Further written evidence.”
- 44.
Ibid.
- 45.
“Opening of New Diplomatic Academy.” Gov.uk. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/opening-of-new-diplomatic-academy.
- 46.
“Diplomatic Academy,” Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2015. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/402469/Diplomatic_Academy_launch_brochure_Jan_2015_FINAL.pdf, accessed January 21, 2019.
- 47.
“Delivering Global Britain: FCO Skills.” (Written Evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office),” Global Britain: FCO Skills, HC 1254, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Commons, 28 November 2018. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmfaff/1254/125404.htm. 4–6.
- 48.
“Delivering Global Britain,” 4.
- 49.
“Foreign and Commonwealth Office Training.” King’s College London. 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/kii/executiveeducation/fco-training.aspx.
- 50.
“Economics for Foreign Policy: Customized Courses for the FCO.” London School of Economics and Political Science. 2019. Accessed January 25, 2019. https://www.slideshare.net/lseenterprise/economics-for-foreign-policy-customised-courses-for-the-fco.
- 51.
“Joint training for French and British Diplomats.” Gov.uk. June 19, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/joint-training-for-french-and-british-diplomats.
- 52.
“Role of the FCO in UK Government.” UK Parliament. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/inquiries1/the-role-of-the-fco-in-uk-government/.
- 53.
Ibid.
- 54.
Ibid.
- 55.
“Further Written Evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.” UK Parliament. November 25, 2010. Accessed October 10, 2016. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmfaff/665/665we03.htm.
- 56.
“Delivering Global Britain”: Written evidence from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (SK10004), 6; Andrew Levi, “British Foreign Office Personnel Rules: Introduction” http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/NISPAcee/UNPAN007287.pdf. Accessed February 2, 2019.
- 57.
“Future FCO,” 8–9.
- 58.
“Delivering Global Britain,” 13–14.
- 59.
Ibid.
- 60.
Paul Williams, “Who’s Making UK Foreign Policy?” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944–) 80, no. 5 (2004): 911–929. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3569478.
- 61.
Ibid.
- 62.
Interviews with senior FCO officials, past and present, London, October 29 and 30, 2018. For discussion, see Jamie Gaskarth, British Foreign Policy (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 12–19. For analysis of similar distortions in the US decision to go to war, see Robert Hutchings, “America at War, 2003–5,” chapter 5 in Truth to Power: A History of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, ed. Robert Hutchings and Gregory Treverton (Oxford University Press, 2019).
- 63.
Commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 under the chairmanship of Sir John Chilcot, The Iraq Inquiry, as it was also known, was issued in 2016: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20171123123237/http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/.
- 64.
Williams, “Who’s Making UK Foreign Policy?”
- 65.
Jon Lunn, Louisa Brooke-Holland, and Claire Mills. “The UK National Security Council.” United Kingdom House of Commons Library 7456. January 11, 2016.
- 66.
Ibid.
- 67.
Joe Devanny and Josh Harris, “The National Security Council: National Security at the Centre of Government.” 2014. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/NSC%20final%202.pdf.
- 68.
“Role of the FCO.”
- 69.
Ibid.
- 70.
Williams, “Who’s Making UK Foreign Policy?”
- 71.
Ibid.
- 72.
“Equipping the Government for Brexit.” House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. July 19, 2016. Accessed November 15, 2016. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmfaff/431/431.pdf.
- 73.
Ibid.
- 74.
Tugendhat, “Address to the Royal United Services Institute.”
- 75.
Steve Bloomfield, “An island apart: the inside story of how the Foreign Office is failing to prepare for Brexit,” Prospect, October 15, 2018.
- 76.
Ibid.
- 77.
Cited in Timothy Edmunds, “Complexity, Strategy and the National Interest,” in Timothy Edmunds, Jamie Gaskarth, and Robin Porter, eds. British Foreign Policy and the National Interest (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), 171.
- 78.
Sanders and Houghton, Losing an Empire, 1–2 and 286–287.
- 79.
“Delivering Global Great Britain.”
- 80.
“Future FCO.”
- 81.
“Foreign Office@foreignoffice.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office Twitter Page (n.d.). Accessed October 6, 2016. https://twitter.com/foreignoffice; “Foreign Office@foreignoffice,” Foreign and Commonwealth Office Facebook Page (n.d.). Accessed October 6, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/foreignoffice/.
- 82.
Greg Quinn, “British Diplomacy in the Information Age.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2014. Accessed September 19, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/british-diplomacy-in-the-information-age; William Hague, “The best diplomatic service in the world: strengthening the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as an institution.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. September 8, 2011. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-bestdiplomatic-service-in-the-world-strengthening-the-foreign-and-commonwealth-office-as-an-institution; Joe Devanny, “Austerity, Reform and Leadership: The View from the Foreign Office.” July 16, 2015. Institute for Government. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/12151/austerity-reform-and-leadership-the-view-from-the-foreignoffice/.
- 83.
Interview with FCO employee.
- 84.
Hugo Swire, “Foreign Office Minister speaks about Britain’s reputation in the world.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. September 18, 2012. Accessed October 11, 2016. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-office-ministerspeaks-about-britain-s-reputation-in-the-world.
- 85.
“FCO Public Diplomacy.”
- 86.
Jolyon Welsh and David Fearn, D “Engagement: Public Diplomacy in a Globalised World.” Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 2008. Accessed October 31, 2016. https://www.uscpublicdiplomacy.org/sites/uscpublicdiplomacy.org/files/useruploads/u26739/Engagement_FCO.pdf.
- 87.
Interview with FCO employee.
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Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank the following diplomats and scholars who were consulted in researching and writing this chapter: Gill Bennett, John Bew, Keith Hamilton, Matthew Harries, Stephen Hickey, Matthew Moody, Pauline Neville-Jones, Patrick Salmon, and Liane Saunders.
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Crawford, A., Rettstadt, A., Hutchings, R. (2020). United Kingdom. In: Hutchings, R., Suri, J. (eds) Modern Diplomacy in Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26933-3_9
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