Through its withdrawal from the EU, the UK diminished its overall usefulness to other actors. Little wonder, then, that efforts to demonstrate the utility of Global Britain at the G7 summit were overshadowed by the complexities of withdrawal, writes Benjamin Martill

Martill, Benjamin

English

LSE Research Online

G7	summit:	America	is	back,	but	Britain	cannotescape	BrexitThrough	its	withdrawal	from	the	EU,	the	UK	diminished	its	overall	usefulness	to	other	actors.	Littlewonder,	then,	that	efforts	to	demonstrate	the	utility	of	Global	Britain	at	the	G7	summit	wereovershadowed	by	the	complexities	of	withdrawal,	writes	Benjamin	Martill.The	G7	meeting	between	the	leaders	of	predominantly	Western	and	democratic	states,	whichtook	place	in	Carbis	Bay,	Cornwall,	is	an	opportunity	to	set	priorities	for	the	coming	years	and	forindividual	countries	to	show	leadership	on	the	world	stage.	The	Heads	of	State	(or	government)	ofthe	US,	UK,	France,	Germany,	Canada,	Japan	and	Italy,	flanked	by	the	President	of	the	European	Council	and	thePresident	of	the	European	Commission,	spent	the	week	posing	for	photographs	and	hashing	out	the	bare	bones	oftheir	position	on	common	threats.There	was	notable,	if	arguably	insufficient,	movement	on	the	‘three	Cs’:	COVID-19,	climate	change,	and	China,	withan	agreement	to	share	a	greater	number	of	vaccines	with	the	global	South,	renewed	commitments	to	lower	carbonemissions,	and	American	proposals	for	an	‘alliance’	against	China,	on	which	Joe	Biden	is	arguably	as	hawkish	ashis	predecessor.There	was	also	talk	of	renewing	commitments	to	existing	arrangements	after	the	tumultuous	past	few	years,	withtalk	about	the	‘indestructible’	Anglo-American	relationship	from	Boris	Johnson,	the	launching	of	a	new	‘Atlanticcharter’,	and	efforts	to	combat	tax	avoidance	by	big	tech,	with	movement	towards	the	harmonisation	of	tax	rates.Indeed,	the	sub-text	of	this	year’s	summit,	six	months	after	Biden’s	inauguration,	is	that	‘America	is	back’.	Gone	arethe	ally-baiting	policies	of	the	Trump	administration,	the	incendiary	rhetoric	about	America’s	foreign	entanglements,and	his	inward-looking	‘America	First’	agenda.Something	similar	might	be	said	in	relation	to	the	UK,	too,	since	Britain’s	hosting	of	the	G7	offered	a	prominentopportunity	for	Johnson	to	showcase	his	post-Brexit,	‘Global	Britain’	agenda	in	full	swing.	As	a	Brexit	supporter,Johnson	hitched	his	political	fortunes	to	the	idea	that	the	UK	could	be	more	successful,	nimbler,	and	more	relevantif	it	freed	itself	from	the	‘shackles’	of	the	EU.	Proponents	of	Global	Britain	have	advocated	a	focus	on	Britain’s	extra-European	activities,	capitalising	on	ties	within	the	Commonwealth	and	the	‘Anglosphere’,	and	prioritisingrelationships	with	existing	allies	(like	the	US)	and	emerging	centres	of	increasing	economic	and	geopoliticalimportance,	such	as	Southeast	Asia.But	the	challenge	that	is	Brexit	for	the	UK’s	role	and	reputation	has	been	hard	to	shake,	let	alone	link	to	any	positiveoutcomes.	One	reason	is	that	the	practicalities	of	Brexit,	and	their	political	implications,	are	still	causing	problemssome	five	years	following	the	EU	referendum.	This	is	most	notable	in	the	case	of	Northern	Ireland.	In	his	haste	toagree	the	terms	of	the	UK’s	withdrawal	from	the	EU	in	2019,	Johnson	negotiated	as	a	replacement	for	TheresaMay’s	infamous	‘backstop’	a	Protocol	for	Northern	Ireland	which	established	a	de	facto	border	in	the	Irish	Sea,inflaming	Unionist	tensions	and	throwing	the	erstwhile	Brexit	supporters,	the	Democratic	Unionist	Party,	under	thebus.After	the	UK	fell	out	of	love	with	the	protocol,	Johnson	promised	initially	to	abrogate	it	–	through	the	Internal	MarketBill	–	and	the	government	has	dragged	its	feet	on	implementation.	This	has	infuriated	the	EU	institutions	andmember	states,	who	have	sought	to	use	the	G7	summit	to	pressure	Johnson	into	implementing	the	protocol,resulting	in	several	high-profile	diplomatic	spats	in	recent	days.	The	US	offered	a	rare	rebuke	of	the	UK	over	itsseeming	lack	of	commitment	to	upholding	the	peace	process	and	the	Good	Friday	Agreement.	While	the	UKgovernment	is	keen	to	portray	the	protocol	as	an	EU	imposition,	it	was,	of	course,	an	invention	of	the	UKgovernment,	and	continues	to	offer	proof	that	no	solution	exists	to	provide	for	the	absence	of	borders	betweenNorthern	Ireland	and	both	the	Irish	Republic	and	the	UK	as	long	as	Britain	seeks	to	diverge	from	EU	regulations.But	the	legacy	of	Brexit	for	Britain’s	role	in	the	world	runs	deeper	than	such	(admittedly	important)	hangovers	fromthe	complexities	of	withdrawal.	Britain’s	historical	commitment	to	the	liberal	international	order,	unsurprisingly	strongfor	a	state	which	helped	to	construct	this	order	and	which	benefits	from	it,	has	been	dented	by	Brexit	in	particular.British Politics and Policy at LSE: G7 summit: America is back, but Britain cannot escape Brexit Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2021-06-16Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/g7-summit-america-is-back-but-britain-cannot-escape-brexit/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/Britain	is	also	less	useful	as	an	international	partner	than	when	it	was	a	member	of	the	EU.	The	great	irony	is	thatsupporters	of	Global	Britain	saw	Brexit	as	a	means	of	strengthening	other	relationships,	like	the	Atlantic	allianceand	the	Commonwealth,	but	failed	to	realise	the	extent	to	which	Britain’s	value	to	these	partners	lay	in	its	EUmembership,	its	influence	in	Brussels,	and	London’s	status	as	a	major	financial	hub	within	the	single	market.The	UK’s	reputation	as	a	trusting	and	law-abiding	actor	has	also	been	eviscerated	by	wrangling	over	thecommitments	the	UK	previously	signed	up	to.	The	high-profile	willingness	to	abrogate	highly	salient	recentagreements	has	undermined	trust	in	the	UK	and	this	will	be	difficult	to	rebuild.	One	might	argue,	of	course,	thatJohnson’s	specific	leadership	style,	and	his	preference	for	quick	deals	over	institutionalised	agreements	and	rules-based	multilateralism,	will	not	outlast	his	tenure	in	office,	limiting	the	long-term	damage	to	the	UK.	But	even	in	apost-Johnson	era,	allies	will	have	to	worry	about	future	leaders	and	their	commitment	to	British	soft	power	and	keypartners.And	Brexit	supporters	don’t	just	want	Brexit.	Many	of	them	are	sceptical	of	the	other	bases	of	Britain’s	liberal	foreignpolicy	identity,	including	the	proportion	of	GDP	spent	on	overseas	aid	(recently,	and	shambolically,	subject	to	a‘temporary	cut’),	the	UK’s	alignment	with	democratic	nations	against	such	would-be	competitors	as	Russia	andChina,	and	the	rules-based	international	trading	regime.	In	other	words,	while	it	is	hard	enough	to	de-link	the	EUfrom	the	rest	of	the	international	liberal	order,	many	Brexit	supporters	are	not	keen	on	the	underlying	assumptionson	which	this	order	is	itself	based.Through	its	withdrawal	from	the	EU,	the	UK	diminished	its	usefulness	to	other	actors,	upended	positive	and	long-standing	relationships,	upended	the	liberal	goals	of	UK	foreign	policy,	tarnished	the	UK’s	reputation	as	a	championof	international	law,	and	helped	undermine	one	of	the	power-centres	of	the	rules-based	liberal	order	(in	the	EU).Little	wonder,	then,	that	efforts	to	demonstrate	the	utility	of	Global	Britain	at	the	G7	summit	would	be	overshadowedby	squabbling	about	Brexit	hangovers.	Far	from	demonstrating	the	success	of	Brexit,	the	summit	bears	the	scars	ofthe	withdrawal	process,	showing	to	the	world	the	diminished	credibility	of	British	multilateralism	and	weakened	softpower.	While	America	is	back,	for	now,	it	will	take	more	than	choice	soundbites	to	show	the	UK’s	role	is	anythingbut	diminished	post-Brexit.____________________About	the	AuthorBenjamin	Martill	is	Lecturer	in	Politics	and	International	Relations	at	the	University	of	Edinburgh.		Featured	image	credit:	Prime	Minister	Boris	Johnson	arrives	at	Carbis	Bay	Hotel,	by	SimonDawson	/	No	10	Downing	Street	on	Flickr	(CC	BY-NC-ND	2.0).British Politics and Policy at LSE: G7 summit: America is back, but Britain cannot escape Brexit Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2021-06-16Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/g7-summit-america-is-back-but-britain-cannot-escape-brexit/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/

G7 summit: America is back, but Britain cannot escape Brexit

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G7 summit: America is back, but Britain cannot escape Brexit

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