Foreign Policy-Making in Britain: The Role of Institutional Power

LCSS will be holding a roundtable Wednesday 5th February on Foreign Policy-Making in Britain: The Role of Institutional Power. This roundtable discussion has been organised in collaboration with the War Studies Department at King’s College London.

The topic is related to the process of foreign policy-making and the influence of academia, think tanks and media. Since we are in a globalised world with interconnected institutions,it is challenging for political decision-makers to respond to concerns and expectations from various sectors of society. Academia has the power of knowledge and intelligentsia whereas think tanks seem to play a moderator role with their focus on policy areas. Media has a power of setting agenda and forming public opinion, however it still lacks institutional power in the classical sense. The topic lays down how the interaction between these various groups take place.

Confirmed keynote speakers:

Prof Matthew Uttley, King’s College London, will discuss forms of collaboration between UK government departments and academia in National Security Strategy and related policy development

Prof Ivor Gaber, City University London, will discuss the relationship between media and foreign policy with reference to the notion of ‘soft power’.

The event will be chaired by Dr Latif Tas, Public Policy Platform at the LCSS.