What on earth is the national interest?
Analysis23 Loka 2023

What on earth is the national interest?

Should we be sceptical when politicians claim to act in "the national interest"? The phrase is frequently trotted out to elevate policy and actions as unimpeachably serving us all. But what does it actually mean? So far the Oxford English Dictionary has steered clear of pinning down this "slippery" term. Mark Damazer digs up its historical roots and talks to politicians, prime-ministerial speechwriters and policymakers to define a term that can obscure as much as it elucidates. Is its use just cynical high grounding or does it speak of a sincere effort to disentangle policy from personal or party interests? Is the national interest best served by a strong civic landscape where differing visions of “the national interest” are free to battle it out?

Presenter: Mark Damazer Producer: David Reid Editor: Clare Fordham

Contributors: Michael Gove, Minister for Levelling up, Housing and Communities Angela Rayner, shadow deputy prime minister and shadow levelling up secretary Phil Collins, former prime-ministerial speechwriter Munira Mirza, former Director of the No10 Policy Unit Dame Linda Colley, Professor of History at Princeton Fiona McPherson, Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, specialising in new words

Jaksot(389)

Holland's Challenge to Tolerance

Holland's Challenge to Tolerance

Why is liberal, tolerant Netherlands home to one of Europe's most successful anti-immigration, anti-Islamic parties?Geert Wilders' radical right-wing Party For Freedom (PVV) - which wants to close mos...

13 Maalis 201728min

How do the SNP sell a second referendum?

How do the SNP sell a second referendum?

Could a second referendum on Scottish independence yield a different result? In September 2014 when Scotland voted against becoming an independent country it seemed like the question had been settled ...

6 Maalis 201728min

How Voters Decide: Part Two

How Voters Decide: Part Two

What makes us change our mind when it comes to elections? We are all swingers now. More voters than ever before are switching party from one election to the next. Tribal loyalties are weakening. The e...

27 Helmi 201728min

How Voters Decide: Part One

How Voters Decide: Part One

What does the story of the Downing Street cat reveal about the way voters decide? We are not taught how to vote. We rely on intuition, snap judgments and class prejudice. We vote for policies that cla...

20 Helmi 201728min

Analysis Extra: The Pull of Putin

Analysis Extra: The Pull of Putin

Why do populist politicians across the West want warmer relations with Russia? Are they just Kremlin agents? Or are they tapping into a growing desire to find common cause with Moscow – and end East-W...

16 Helmi 201737min

Is Talent a Thing?

Is Talent a Thing?

When hiring people, is the concept of talent so ill-defined as to be useless? Entrepreneur and author Margaret Heffernan thinks so and explores what characteristics recruiters might want to look for i...

13 Helmi 201728min

How Not to Do It

How Not to Do It

Jacqui Smith, the former Labour home secretary, investigates why government policies fail, focusing on one of her party's most cherished reforms.Indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPPs) we...

6 Helmi 201728min

Atom Man

Atom Man

The journey of an American 'cold warrior' from nuclear deterrence to nuclear disarmament. Former US Secretary of Defence William J Perry has spent his entire seven-decade career on the nuclear brink. ...

30 Tammi 201728min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
rss-podme-livebox
the-ulkopolitist
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-fingo-podcast
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-kuka-mina-olen