Perspectives of Great Britain’s defense policy in 2020–2030s

Abstract

This study is devoted to the study of the main directions of the development of British defense and security policy. The article analyzes the main directions of the strategy of this sphere of activity of the United Kingdom, examines the situation of the British military-industrial complex and the main challenges facing the national defense and security of London. The paper explores the main directions of defense and security policy, the vision of challenges by the British political and military leadership. The turn of the United Kingdom’s priorities in defense and security from “hybrid threats” to the possibility of confrontation with the regular forces of major military powers and its causes are revealed. One of the most important observations in the article is the role of the withdrawal of Allied troops from Afghanistan and its consequences in the British defense strategy. The importance of the Ukrainian conflict since February 24, 2022 and the involvement of British military and political resources in it is emphasized. The paper also examines the possible consequences of this conflict for British defense and security. The main conclusion of the work is the thesis about the collapse of the concept of “Global Britain” due to the lack of adequate resources to control a number of regions (first of all, we are talking about the Middle East, the Black Sea basin and Central Asia) and the decline in the level of competence of the top political leadership of the United Kingdom. The crisis in the British military-industrial complex and its dependence on foreign technologies and products is stated. In addition, the study predicts a possible fundamental reformatting of British foreign policy due to the challenges facing the defense and security of London.