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Kavanagh et al: British Politics 5e

Chapter 31

Foreign and defence policy

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
www.fco.gov.uk/
Tracing its origins back to 1782, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the natural point of departure for anyone researching Britain's foreign and defence policies. The site provides news, announcements regarding travel advice and details for companies wanting to invest overseas. However, most useful for your purposes will be the Policy section of the website. Here you can find press releases and speeches by Foreign Office ministers while the International Priorities subsection will provide you with further information on the principles and policies guiding the government's foreign relations.

The Ministry of Defence
www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/home
A well presented website which is home to the Ministry of Defence. You will find links to the three armed services, news, key facts and a statement of the UK's 'Defence Vision'. The 'Defence for Researchers' section leads you to statistical, historical and contemporary defence related research material. By clicking on Defence for Business you can even find out how to purchase surplus equipment.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
www.cnduk.org/
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was founded in February 1958 and has campaigned since that date to eliminate nuclear weapons (and more recently, all other weapons of mass destruction). It has also been a vociferous critic of the foreign policies of the current US and British governments. The website provides information on CND's history and objectives. Particularly useful is the 'Briefings and Information' section.

The Foreign Policy Centre
fpc.org.uk/
The Foreign Policy Centre is a think-tank which concentrates (although not exclusively) on foreign policy issues in the UK. It was established in 1998 and has been closely associated with the Labour Party and is now run by Stephen Twigg, the former Labour MP who famously defeated Michael Portillo in the 1997 general election. All its publications are available to download in Adobe Acrobat format. Particular highlights available in this section of the website are Plesch's pamphlet on the future of Britain's nuclear deterrent and the 2004 pamphlet evaluating the 'ethical dimension' of Labour's foreign policy.

Stop the War Coalition
www.stopwar.org.uk/
The Stop the War Coalition, established in 2001, is the principal organisation in the UK campaigning against the military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq undertaken by the British and American governments. It was responsible for the mass demonstrations in London and Glasgow in February 2003 which were co-ordinated with similar protests elsewhere in the world. The website will provide you with links to other anti-war organisations and provides a source of analysis of contemporary foreign affairs very distinct from that offered by the major political parties.