Geopolitics and Identity in British Foreign Policy Discourse: The Island Race

This is the first book to examine Britain’s geopolitical identity and how it is expressed in foreign policy discourse. It demonstrates how British imperial thought, related to its island status, has remained important for British Members of Parliament in their debates of contemporary issues.

It presents an exciting and provocative new reading of modern British foreign policy that decentres traditional notions of rationalism and pragmatism by foregrounding the much-neglected aspects of identity and geopolitical space. As British foreign policy-makers wrestle with how to define Britishness outside of the EU, this analysis provides a fresh perspective. It presents a much-needed historical contextualisation of long-standing concepts such as insularity from Europe and a universal aspect on world affairs.

This book will be highly relevant for students, researchers and professionals that are seeking to understand British foreign policy. It will be of interest to those researching and working within geopolitics, identity, sociology, foreign policy analysis and international relations.

Nick Whittaker is a Subject Lead in Social Sciences and Law and tutor of International Relations at the University of Sussex International Study Centre. His articles have appeared in Geopolitics and Political Geography.