Publication

In this transcribed speech, Simon Fraser reflects on his tenure as the Permanent Under-Secretary of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2010-2015), and the guidelines he believes should shape British foreign policy. More specifically, Fraser 1) briefly overviews the global contexts the UK faced during the Cold War and the period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 2008 global financial crash; 2) discusses some of the key events that occurred during his time as permanent under-secretary, such as the Arab Spring and its aftermaths in Libya, Syria and Egypt; 3) highlights the key issues that will affect UK foreign policy well into the future, including terrorism, cyber security and migration; and 4) offers some advice on how to cope best with the latter problems.