Geopolitical realignment in a maritime century

Private Event

The Council on Geostrategy is delighted to host a conference with the Royal Navy and Adm. Sir Ben Key KCB CBE ACD, First Sea Lord, entitled ‘Geopolitical Realignment in a maritime century’, on 19th July 2022. The conference, kindly sponsored by CQS, will be a day-long event in the heart of London, at a venue steeped in British naval and political history – the In and Out Club.

The conference further develops the themes discussed at the Council on Geostrategy’s inaugural naval conference ‘Extending “Global Britain” through naval diplomacy’, hosted last October by Wilton Park. This conference aimed to enhance understanding of the strategic impact of major naval deployments across the military, political, diplomatic, economic and cultural spectrums.

The Integrated Review launched in early 2021 calls the United Kingdom (UK) a ‘convening power’. It states that: ‘In the more interconnected, multipolar and contested environment we will face in the coming decade, the UK must be more active in shaping the open international order of the future: using our convening power and working with others to ensure it is fit for the 21st century and more resilient to short-term shocks and long term challenges’. The deployment of the Carrier Strike Group on its maiden international tour of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific was an excellent example of the Royal Navy’s ability in convening allies and partners across both theatres.

While this convening power is critical in drawing allies and partners together, Britain also needs the ability to form deeper and more durable relationships, particularly in an era of intensifying geopolitical competition and environmental degradation. In this sense, the UK has the capacity to become an ‘aligning power’ to uphold an open international order and push back against those who challenge it.

Consequently, whilst remaining deeply committed to multilateralism and the organisations which embody it, as well as its strong bilateral relations with traditional allies and partners, plurilateral initiatives are becoming increasingly important to the UK in this more competitive age. The recently announced AUKUS agreement between Australia, Britain and the United States has the potential to significantly realign Indo-Pacific geopolitics, just as the ‘trilateral’ between the UK, Poland and Ukraine holds the potential to reinforce security in Eastern Europe. New arrangements could follow with other like-minded partners in the Euro-Atlantic, as well as the Indo-Pacific, to enhance British interests and help uphold an open international order.

In light of the new geopolitical challenges and plurilateral opportunities, the Council on Geostrategy will organised a one-day conference in the heart of London with the following aims:

1. Examine the changing geopolitical and geoeconomic circumstances in which Britain and its allies and partners find ourselves confronting;
2. Explain the importance of geopolitical realignment in an age of competition;
3. Explore the potential for the UK to become an ‘aligning power’ to help meet the two key challenges of the 21st century – intensifying geopolitical competition and environmental degradation. 

Programme

09:00-09:30 | Registration and welcome

09:45-10:15 | Keynote speech

Adm. Sir Ben Key KCB CBE ACD
First Sea Lord, Royal Navy

Transcript

10:15-10:30 | Coffee Break

13:45-14:45 | Lunch

16:15-16:30 | Coffee Break

Attendance is by invitation only.

Venue