EDITORIAL Sir Lockwood Smith 3 | Editor’s letter 24 | A shameful record Joseph Silke Luke de PulfordLIES AND THE S 4 | Director’s note 26 | Data kings? Ryan Shorthouse Dr John Hemmings 5 | Letters to the Editor 27 | Collaborating with China? Isabel Hilton OBE RISKS AND RIVALS 6 | The biggest threats to the UK PIVOTAL PARTNERS Sir David Lidington CBE 29 | Good neighbours? 8 | Building Britain’s resilience Jill Rutter Sophia Gaston 30 | The Anglosphere revived? 9 | Britain entangled? James Skinner Michael Stephens 31 | Global family 10 | Terror transformed? Andrew Rosindell MPLIES AND THE S Nikita MalikLIES AND THE S 33 | The truth about trade 12 | Active threat David Henig Chris Hernon 35 | Smarter aid 13 | Back to nature? Preventing Ryan Henson pandemics 36 | Global force for good? Helen Jackson Danny Sriskandarajah 15 | Fighting fit Tobias Ellwood MP REVIEWS 16 | Disrupting disinformation 39 | Shuggie Bain Lauren Protentis By Douglas Stuart Ryan Shorthouse INTERVIEW 40 | Climate and the clash of nations 18 | Sir Alan Duncan By Daniel Yergin Contents Joseph Silke Andrew Leming 41 | A swim in a pond in the rain THE CHINESE CENTURY? By George Saunders 22 | The flickering flame of freedom Phoebe Arslanagic-Wakefield Nathan Law 42 | TV: Is Covid racist? 23 | Tilting tensions Zeenath Chowdhury Bright Blue is the independent think tank and pressure group for liberal conservatism. UK Government Crown Copyright Chief Executive: Ryan Shorthouse Chair: Sarah Sands Board of Directors: Rachel Johnson, Alexandra Jezeph, Diane Banks, Phil Clarke & Richard Mabey Editor: Joseph Silke Design: Joseph Silke Cover design: Chris Solomons Interview: Sir Alan Duncan (p.18) Fighting fit: Tobias Ellwood MP (p.15) brightblue.org.uk EDITORIAL PHOEBE ARSLANAGIC-WAKEFIELD & JOSEPH SILKE Editor’s letter Editor Joseph Silke introduces this edition he honeymoon period of Western analyst, Chris Hernon (p.12), insists that Hono- triumph that followed the collapse we can win the fight against Vladimir Putin lulu, Dr Tof Soviet tyranny is over, with Pax and Russian aggression. John Americana challenged by a rising China Associate Fellow at Bright Blue and Hemmings (p.27), examines the case for and an increasingly multipolar world. The environmental economist, Helen Jackson creating a ‘D10’ club of the G7 plus Australia, Afghanistan fiasco has shaken the alliance (p.13), stresses the ongoing threat posed by South Korea, and India, to defend against of free nations, so now is the moment to zoonotic diseases, and that failing to respect digital authoritarianism. take stock of the United Kingdom’s position. nature could lead to another Covid-19. Journalist, broadcaster, and China expert, Long past its imperial glory, Britain still Chair of the Defence Committee, Tobias Isabel Hilton OBE (p.27), argues that struggles to determine its place among the Ellwood MP (p.15), warns that the UK’s despite our differences, China remains an international community, as the rancour shrinking military capability leaves us indispensable partner for tackling global over Brexit shows. The Defence Secretary, vulnerable as our threats multiply and problems like the climate crisis. Ben Wallace, has conceded that the UK is grow in strength, and undermines our Senior Research Fellow at UK in a not a superpower, but the country has an relationships with key allies. Changing Europe, Jill Rutter (p.29), writes active role to play on the world stage. The National security and communications that the UK and the European Union need a Government has called this role ‘Global expert, Lauren Protentis (p.16), cooling off period after Brexit and to build a Britain’ – but what does that really mean? explains how techniques developed for more constructive working relationship. After the publication of the Integrated counterterrorism purposes can also be Chief Executive of CANZUK International, Review earlier this year, this magazine applied in the fight against disinformation James Skinner (p.30), makes the case for brings together defence, security, and campaigns. greater ties between Canada, Australia, New foreign policy experts to answer the tough Our interview is with the former Minister Zealand, and the UK to increase prosperity questions about Britain’s strengths and of State for Europe and the Americas and in all four nations. vulnerabilities in 2021 and beyond. deputy to Boris Johnson at the Foreign Chair of the Commonwealth APPG, Opening Centre Write is an essay by Sir Office,Sir Alan Duncan (p.20). We discuss Andrew Rosindell MP (p.31), insists that David Lidington CBE (p.6), the former de whether ‘Global Britain’ is a sufficient foreign the Commonwealth deserves more respect facto Deputy Prime Minister, who outlines policy, the Government’s record on LGBT and has been neglected. the main security threats facing the UK and issues and Covid-19, and his infamous diary. Director of the UK Trade Policy Project, how we can overcome them. Hong Kong pro-democracy activist, David Henig (p.33), relays the truth about Director of the British Foreign Policy Nathan Law (p.22) urges us to see China’s trade, that non-tariff barriers have become Group, Sophia Gaston (p.8), argues that crackdown in the former British colony as a the biggest obstacles to free exchange. building Britain’s resilience to threats will warning sign to the world. Chief Executive of the Coalition for require a whole-of-society approach with Former High Commissioner from Global Prosperity, Ryan Henson (p.35), social cohesion at home. New Zealand to the United Kingdom, Sir argues that foreign aid is a critical soft Associate Fellow at Bright Blue, Michael Lockwood Smith (p.23) encourages the power tool that can improve lives as well as Stephens (p.9), writes about Britain’s UK to see the Asia-Pacific as the new land of project our values. enduring entanglement with the Middle economic opportunity, as well as where to Finally, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB, East, which means we cannot afford to compete with China. Danny Sriskandarajah (p.36) claims that withdraw our engagement with the region. Co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide the UK’s international deeds do not match Counterterrorism and extremism expert, Response, Luke de Pulford (p.24) its ambition, and calls for more action on Nikita Malik (p.11), sets out how the threat denounces the UK Government’s record vaccines and climate aid. from terrorism has evolved in recent years on genocide as unworthy of a country that since the War on Terror began. claims to stand up for human rights. Joseph Silke is the Communications Officer Leading Russia and disinformation Associate Professor at the DKI-APCSS in at Bright Blue 3 EDITORIAL SAM SMETHERS Director’s note Despite the own goal in Afghanistan, the West can still win, argues Ryan Shorthouse oming of age around the turn of the American-led assertiveness over world Foreign millennium, it seemed the American- affairs in the past decade or so. Yanis Affairs Cled advance of freedom – at home Varoufakis, the socialist former Greek Committee, and abroad – would march on forever. finance minister, gloated: “Liberal-neocon was right: “We Then there was September 11, as imperialism is defeated once and for all.” are swapping patient planes crashed into the heart of Western Those arguing that the US and its friends achievement for a second fire and a second civilisation, the Twin Towers collapsing, and are always the evil oppressors, intervening war.” The civil war is likely to intensify: the sending tsunamic dust clouds around the in countries for no good reason, other than Taliban will fight various rebels, from the corridors of Manhattan. Hearing the news for dollars and domination – will soon find even more extreme ISIS-K, responsible for on the car radio is a vivid memory: I stared out who the real oppressors are. The women the recent terrorist attack at Kabul Airport, out the passenger window at the pine trees and girls we have left behind – educated, to the more moderate National Resistance in the distance. The shadows beneath them working, leading, after two decades of allied Front, based in Panjshir. seemed to grow longer. presence - will soon tell us that. As Rory Stewart, the former International The Bush Administration announced a Khaled Hosseini’s bestselling semi- Development Secretary pointed out, new War on Terror, making no distinction autobiographical book, The Kite Runner, there were ten times as many soldiers between those who commit and harbour hauntingly depicts life in the 1990s under in South Korea this year as there were terrorism, starting America’s longest war in the Taliban: “Two Talibs with Kalashnikovs in Afghanistan just before the total Afghanistan. slung across their shoulders helped the withdrawal. If there can be a continuing Crucially, though, the number of blindfolded man from the first truck and presence there 70 years after the Korean democracies worldwide has continued to two others helped the burqa-clad woman. War, why not in Afghanistan? Even before rise this century. Terrorism – though more The woman’s knees buckled under her and the Doha Agreement between Trump and suicidal and indiscriminate – kills fewer she slumped to the ground. The soldiers the Taliban in 2020, there was a relatively people than in the past. The Chinese and pulled her up and she slumped again. When low deployment of allied troops and low Russian regimes act belligerently towards they tried to lift her again, she screamed and casualties among our soldiers. NATO-lite us, but are tamed by their reliance on a kicked. I will never, as long as I draw breath, was keeping the Taliban at bay. globalised, capitalist economy. forget the sound of that scream. The debate in Britain on foreign policy So, is the West – and its values - really “It was the cry of a wild animal trying has been dominated by the merits or in retreat? A commonplace argument is to pry its mangled leg free from the bear otherwise of militarily intervening in a that liberalism was over-optimistic and trap.