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Global Britain, contested spaces, and the UK Overseas Territories

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Recorded

Report and keynote presentations

Since the decision of the UK to leave the EU, the UK Government has established and promoted the idea of ‘Global Britain’. Perhaps the clearest, but still largely unrecognised, manifestations of Global Britain are the UK’s Overseas Territories. They are scattered across the globe, and include thousands of small islands, vast areas of ocean, but also, in Antarctica, land six times the size of the UK. The territories provide the UK with significant global reach. However, the UK’s sovereignty over several of the territories is contested.

You can read the report here: Global Britain, contested spaces, and the UK Overseas Territories'

In March 2023, a workshop was held here at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies to consider how the UKOTs can support and enhance Global Britain, but also how the UK can best mitigate international tensions to effectively secure its global brand. The workshop involved several keynote presentations and a range of plenary and smaller group discussions considering issues such as political and constitutional relations, social policy, security, the economy, and the environment.

The workshop was kindly supported by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust and the AHRC.

Keynote 1 

Professor Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta
UKOTs after the CUBE: Whither Global Britain? 

Part 1

Part 2

Keynote 2 

Benito Wheatley, Special Envoy of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Government and the Premier’s Advisor on International Relations 
The urgent need for a new modern partnership between post-Brexit Britain and the Overseas Territories.

Part 1 

Part 2

Keynote 3 

 

Dr Jennifer Ballantine, Gibraltar Garrison Library and University of Gibraltar 
Of perfect storms, Brexit and Gibraltar: The reawakening of Spain’s territorial claim over Gibraltar set-against the global vision for a post-Brexit UK family and the local geopolitical realities of this British Overseas Territory. 

Part 1

Part 2