BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY IN THE '80s: LEADING THE WAY TO A COMMON
SENSE '90s
1.
A commitment to freedom and common sense. These are the
qualities for which I believe British Foreign Policy in the '80s
will be remembered. This Government has worked hard to preserve common-sense where it existed and to instill it where it had become obscured, while maintaining above all the individual's freedoms and
rights. This commitment in all fields of policy was the fundamental
platform on which we were elected ten years ago. But nowhere has it
been more evident than in the field of foreign affairs, on which I
have been asked to write for "Revue des Deux Mondes".
2.
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It is sometimes difficult to perceive in retrospect why some of
the more sensible developments going on in the world around us have taken so long to come about they appear so self-evidently "right". This is perhaps particularly true at the present moment, a time when
events seem to be taking a turn for the better: the Russians have pulled out of Afghanistan; the European Community has its financing under better control; agreement has been reached in Angola. These are just some of the "right" steps which key players on the world
scene have taken in recent months.
3. So, what has the UK's role been in creating the new atmosphere
in which these positive development s are tasking place? What part has the UK had to play in helping common sense to break out all over
the world?
4.
In order to assess this, one must begin by looking at where the
UK finds itself today; what are its strengths; what is its influence. As good a place as any to start is the definition of the UK given in a recent paper by the Royal Institute of International
Affairs at Chatham House. Their definition was "a major state with
attributes of wealth, power and historical connection which give its
interests and actions weight within the international community".
The only addition I would wish to make to the Chatham House
definition would be the addition of "European" somewhere in it. The fact of our Europeaness is not only fundamental to the UK's place in
the world but also greatly enhances the weight which our other