• In Focus

    UK development policy: Soft power and global influence

    Recent UK governments have emphasised collaborative partnership approaches to development assistance. However, concerns have been raised that the current level of development aid spending, below the statutory target, is impacting the UK’s potential for international influence. While the UK ranks highly in most ‘soft power’ lists, the USA tends to rank higher and other states are showing rising influence. The government has launched a Soft Power Council to identify and drive opportunities.

  • In Focus

    Holocaust Memorial Day 2026

    The UK will mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2026. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, a charity established and supported by the UK government, will organise and facilitate events and activities nationwide to commemorate the 6 million Jewish men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust, the victims of other acts of Nazi persecution, and where persecution led in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

  • In Focus

    Preventing mass atrocities

    The UK has a duty to punish and help prevent atrocity crimes like genocide from occurring globally. Successive UK governments have used various mechanisms to help prevent mass atrocities. However, concerns have been raised in recent years about the prevalence of incidents of large-scale violence continuing to occur around the world. This has led some parliamentarians and external stakeholders to call on the government to do more to prevent atrocities.

  • In Focus

    Official development assistance: Humanitarian impacts of reductions in UK overseas aid

    Legislation passed in 2015 created a statutory duty for the UK to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA), though it also permitted lower spending in certain circumstances. In February 2025 the Labour government announced ODA spend would fall to 0.3% of GNI by 2027. Humanitarian organisations have criticised the decision and called for ODA spend to revert to the 0.7% statutory target.

  • In Focus

    Historical responsibility for colonial mining pollution

    Mining can have major impacts on the environment with one study putting the current global environmental costs of mining annually at £0.3tn, representing 0.5% of the world’s annual GDP. Widespread mining took place in British colonies during colonial rule. Commentators such as Action for Southern Africa have argued that instances of historic pollution, and how mining industries deal with them, present “a warning for what could come as the energy transition accelerates”.

  • In Focus

    UK-Israel trade: Contribution to the economy

    The UK and Israel engaged in trade worth £6.2bn in the year to the end of Q2 2025, with the UK reporting a total trade surplus of £1bn over that period. Trade relations are governed by a trade agreement that took effect after the UK’s Brexit transition period. The UK and Israel later launched negotiations on a new free trade agreement. However, the UK government suspended negotiations in May 2025.

  • In Focus

    Humanitarian situation in Sudan: November 2025

    Sudan’s current civil war continues to have a devastating impact on civilians, with UN agencies describing the conflict as both the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and the world’s largest displacement crisis. Amid reports of ongoing atrocities in and around El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region and continuing hostilities elsewhere, the UK has been involved in diplomatic efforts calling for an end to the conflict and has increased funding for emergency humanitarian assistance.

  • Research Briefing

    Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: HL Bill 148 of 2024–26

    The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill is intended to align UK law with an international agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the 'high seas'. The bill would enable the UK to enforce compliance for UK craft with internationally agreed protections, such as marine protected areas. It would also set out requirements for UK-based projects collecting genetic resources.

  • Research Briefing

    Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill

    The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill would provide for the implementation of the UK-Mauritius agreement on the Chagos archipelago in UK domestic law ahead of the government ratifying the treaty. In particular it would end UK sovereignty over the archipelago and make certain consequential changes to nationality law, while also providing for the continued administration of the existing joint UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

  • In Focus

    Ukraine update: October 2025

    2025 has seen a significant evolution of the war in Ukraine as new and emerging technologies continue to alter the shape of the battlefield. At the same time, diplomatic efforts to find a solution have continued as the US under President Donald Trump has prioritised a negotiated settlement. The UK and other European nations have continued to declare their support for Ukraine and have sought to aid the country through stepping up supplies of military aid and industrial support.

  • In Focus

    Economic effects of higher defence spending

    The UK government has committed to raise spending on defence as a share of gross domestic product over the next decade. This briefing looks at the potential economic effects of higher defence spending. Higher defence spending could boost economic activity in the short and long run. However, the size of any gains will depend on several factors, including the broader economic context and how additional defence spending is financed.

  • In Focus

    Explainer: United Nations at 80

    2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945. Established in the aftermath of the second world war, the UN was created with a mission of maintaining peace and security, and promoting international cooperation, with the hope it could help prevent another devastating global conflict. Since then, the UN has grown into a large transnational organisation with a broader remit, including promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights. This briefing examines the composition of the modern UN and recent attempts at reform.

  • In Focus

    Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin: China’s plans for global governance

    China recently hosted a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the northern port city of Tianjin. Established in 2001 with six member states, the intergovernmental organisation now comprises 10 countries, including China, Russia and India, which collectively represent over 42% of the world’s population. Commentators argue it has evolved from a group focused on regional security into a forum aimed at projecting a non-western alternative worldview.

  • In Focus

    Joint Committee on Human Rights: Accountability for Daesh crimes

    The Joint Committee on Human Rights has called for a reset in the UK’s approach to investigating and prosecuting international crimes such as genocide. It has also called for a change in the law to allow for universal jurisdiction to prosecute such crimes within the UK; greater oversight of powers that allow UK ministers to deprive individuals of British citizenship; and more information on British citizens held in north-east Syria.

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