Soft Power and Britain’s Place in the World

With Labour now in government, how might they utilise the full breadth of the UK’s international arsenal? There is no doubt that in today’s complex geopolitical environment, the wielding of hard power alone is insufficient in delivering international agendas and goals. Instead, nations must increasingly think creatively about utilising their soft power in conjunction with hard power. Last Wednesday’s final instalment of our virtual Election Watch series (held under Chatham House rule) explored what soft power will look like under Labour, and below is a sketch of the key themes covered during the discussion.

Back to the basics

Our working definition for soft power is that, while soft power assets hold immense value, they are not themselves considered soft power. Rather, it is only when these assets are harnessed strategically by the Government in pursuit of a specific aim that soft power is enacted. The government thereby has a crucial role to play in creating a healthy soft power ecosystem which is strategically close, operationally autonomous and highly collaborative.

Given years in opposition, Labour is going to need to go back to first principles when it comes to soft power. We can not assume that the breadth of the party has a full understanding of what soft power is, how it is deployed, and how it can be used effectively alongside other agendas. This is understandable, as soft power, and indeed foreign policy in general, is rarely high on incoming politicians' radars.

There will be significant work then to be done by Labour to establish a coherence in message around the importance of nurturing the UK’s soft power. Critical to this will be demonstrating soft power’s value and importance to the UK’s international agendas, as well as its role in achieving domestic goals. A particularly valuable message to convey across Labour will be soft power’s ability to project, and reflect back into the UK, the kind of values that the UK (and Labour specifically) would like to embody - a partner of generosity, ambition, and respect for the law.

Prioritising strengths

As and when Labour gets to grips with the value of soft power, a coherent and joined-up strategy to guide its deployment will be crucial. A key facet of this will be its pragmatism and viability. With limited resources and capacity, Labour will need to streamline the UK’s international engagement, and in doing so, prioritise the UK’s strengths.

A reasonable expectation is for the UK to try and reclaim international leadership on the climate agenda. Aligning with Labour’s goal to be seen as a naturally ambitious and generous leader, Labour is likely to not only be focused on getting Britain to net-zero, but on using the process to promote and create international trade and reciprocal learning opportunities across climate policy.

In addition, a focus on the UK’s reputation for education internationally would make strategic sense. From curriculum design, qualification assessment, education systems about empowerment and enablements, the UK has a very strong reputation in this field. There will be work to be done to persuade people of the importance of the agenda, and particularly the connection back to domestic goals, but a bottom-up focus on the UK’s international education offer - including much-needed reform of the domestic skills sector - would have a great impact on our international influence.

Labour has also committed to working with diaspora communities to develop soft power in its manifesto. Diaspora communities contain rich links to all around the world, and play a critical role in curating the UK’s reputation. This will be a valuable network to lean into, but considerable thought will need to be taken by Labour to really understand what a coherent, respectful and inclusive approach to engaging the diaspora looks like, with particular care taken when it comes to inclusive language and rhetoric.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and much of the new government’s international priorities are still being hashed out. But given values have traditionally, and continue to be, a key part of Labour’s foreign policy thinking, we can expect the UK’s international leadership pursuits to focus on themes including enhancing leadership around women and girls, equalities and human rights. We may also see a focus on different networks; for example, a focus on the role of the commonwealth in re-establishing collaboration and reconnection in fields of British strengths. Undoubtedly, there is a lot of thinking to be done around how to prioritise, nurture and promote the UK’s strength.

Rule one: the rule of law

A clear priority for the Starmer administration will be re-establishing the UK as the cornerstone of the rule of law. A former human rights lawyer, Starmer has made clear that promoting human rights, democracy and a strong society is core to Starmer’s vision for the UK. But re-establishing the UK’s international reputation as a promoter and defender of human rights and liberal values requires the concerted effort to reflect these values in our international efforts, as well as at home. All arms of our international engagement (and domestic) must be joined-up and underpinned by the fundamental respect for the rule of law and human rights, if the government wants to effectively leverage this facet of UK soft power.

There is work to be done in strengthening this reputation, particularly when it comes to illegal migration. At the top of Labour’s priority list will be moving away from the focus on small boats, and altering the tone with which much of the media and population discusses migration. A humane, practical and effective approach to irregular migration will be vital for Labour’s goal to re-establish the UK reputation as a defender of the rule of law and human rights.

Bridge to Europe

Given reconnecting Britain to Europe is a top priority for Labour, a key avenue by which to ease the wheels of connectivity is via soft power. Cultural ties, people-to-people links, and endless other soft power capabilities, will be crucial in reminding the UK and Europe that we are not really all that different. While Labour has so far expressed the most interest in defence and security cooperation with Europe, this will after all need reciprocal interest from our neighbours. Soft power is a crucial tool in aiding success in these more concrete and tangible policy fields, and must not be overlooked as a method by which to achieve international goals.

A Cultural Challenge for Labour

When it comes to projecting positive messages of pride, influence and success for the UK, Labour will face a challenge. As a party borne of a desire to change, Labour can struggle to talk positively and optimistically about the UK in international contexts. Certainly, while the promotion of values play a key role in Labour’s foreign policy thinking, there is at the same time a loud and often contradictory recognition that the UK’s colonialist past did irreparable damage, and that our history inhibits us from projecting said values on those that we formerly ill-treated. This intellectual incoherence will require some external support when it comes to curating the British story we want to tell, and being proud (and loud) on what we are authentically strong on, and positioning the UK’s place in the world from these points of strength.

Soft power is back on the agenda

Given that soft power is rarely at the top of the UK’s foreign policy agenda, it is striking that soft power featured in both the Conservatives’ and Labour’s manifestos. While our new government has been very sparing on details regarding its approach to soft power - for example, it is not clear what its proposed soft power council might look like - it is a positive step that it is being so widely discussed. There is a key role now for  external businesses and organisations in curating and fleshing out the details of a coherent and joined-up approach to soft power.

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