Global Security Briefing12 Nov 2025

The UK in a Changing World: A Conversation with Professor John Bew

Professor John Bew joins Neil Melvin to reflect on the UK's evolving global role, strategic reviews, and how Britain can navigate an era of geopolitical upheaval.

Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has faced a rapidly transforming global environment marked by the rise of revisionist powers, economic disruption and the erosion of the post-Cold War international order. In response, successive governments have launched a series of major strategic reviews to redefine Britain's global role and national security priorities.

In this episode of Global Security Briefing, Neil Melvin speaks with Professor John Bew, former Foreign Policy Adviser to the UK Prime Minister. Professor Bew was the penholder on the last three UK national security strategies and was closely involved in the shaping of the most recent NATO Strategic Concept. Now back at King's College London, he reflects on how the UK has adapted to geopolitical change and what lies ahead for its foreign, defence and security policy.

The discussion explores:

How the global order is shifting and what this means for the UK's strategic posture.
Lessons from three major UK national security reviews and their evolution.
The UK's response to Russia's aggression and its separate, complex, relationship with China.
The future of European security and Britain's role after Brexit.
The Indo-Pacific tilt and what it reveals about the UK's global ambitions.
The evolving UK-US relationship and prospects for sustaining the 'Special Relationship'.
How Britain can define influence and leadership in a more competitive, multipolar world.

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