A New Role of the United Kingdom Under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Implications for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands Countries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.22.2025.97.02Słowa kluczowe:
United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, Indo-Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, Integrated Review RefreshAbstrakt
The key to the United Kingdom’s global role after Brexit was an international tilt towards the Indo-Pacific. In foreign and security policies, it was considered essential to build or reinforce strategic ties with like-minded regional partners, such as Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Pacific Islands Countries (‘PICs’) that are members of the Commonwealth. Achieving the position of Global Britain through engaged presence in the region was hindered by the consequences of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. Rishi Sunak’s government has prioritized relations with European countries, at the same time attempting to remain a leading Euro-Atlantic power. The purpose of this article is to analyze the post-global foreign policy of the United Kingdom in view of the ‘new normal’ signaled in the Integrated Review Refresh and what it means for relations with the indicated countries of the Indo-Pacific.
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