Britain needs ‘full spectrum defence’ against these emerging threats

Those of us who have served in the armed forces of the United States or Britain know that we share a broadly common outlook. There is general consensus on the global challenges before us – and an appreciation that there are no purely military, diplomatic or economic solutions to those challenges. We know first-hand that most of the issues confronting the world require comprehensive civil-military approaches that integrate all of the instruments of power – both hard and soft.

Among the emerging challenges in recent years has been the growth in threats to the rules-based international order, and the American-led Western alliances that have sought to safeguard peace and promote prosperity in the wake of two world wars and the great depression.

There has been a return to an era of great power competition, in which Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, in particular, are seeking to alter or undermine the rules that have helped to secure peace in the world for over 70 years.

This is why we hope that the concept of Global Britain can become a reality, as Britain “pivots to the world” after Brexit. While it is unlikely we shall see the types of large-scale troop deployments that we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq in the near future, the fight against Islamist extremists is undoubtedly a generational struggle that must continue alongside our preparations for other possible contingencies in Eastern Europe or Eastern Asia. The world would be poorer without the UK continuing to play a prominent role. And while there is rightly questioning around the proper levels of defence spending needed to deter these emerging threats, it is also crucial that the UK remains a “full-spectrum” nation.

This is because Britain brings not just strong conventional and special forces, but also intelligence capability, diplomats, and Department for International Development experts. So, as the competition between great powers resumes, we should not think of hard and soft power as competing for resources, but as complementary tools to help promote a more stable, secure and prosperous world. It was to explore issues like these that we came together for this week’s Policy Exchange Conference on international development.

Take aid. Whether dealing with migration crises, conflict over natural resources, or pandemics, aid can be a truly strategic asset, augmenting and sometimes avoiding the need for hard power.

Aid should seek to be more than palliative – it should strive to be transformational. Drug-resistant diseases are responsible for 700,000 deaths a year; demand for energy is expected to rise by 40 per cent by 2040 and – in a world where 795 million people are undernourished – global food demand is expected to increase by 70 per cent.

For this reason Policy Exchange has advocated that the proportion of the UK aid budget spent on research and innovation should double. The focus should be on long-term projects. By thinking in a more strategic way about how we allocate our development resources to tackle these challenges, we can better tie them into broader strategy that focuses on long-term stability rather than crisis management.

In this regard, our nations – natural allies – share an advantage denied to our opponents: the innovative, creative edge of free societies. While dissenting views are snuffed-out in closed, oppressive regimes, we not only protect, but cherish them. Through this creative tension brilliant ideas emerge, old orthodoxies are challenged, invention and innovation flourish. Economically, militarily, culturally, scientifically – our very way of life provides us with the means to weather the coming challenge – if we are bold and innovative.

As Winston Churchill noted – while praising American investment in science and engineering in a speech at MIT in 1949: “The outstanding feature of the 20th century has been the enormous expansion in the numbers who are given the opportunity to share in the larger and more varied life which in previous periods was reserved for the few and for the very few. This process must continue and we trust at an increasing rate.”

Our competitors may wear a new mask but the wisdom remains: we must play to our strengths and have the courage to follow our principles throughout the globe. When Britain chooses to act, it can wield considerable influence in the world, and make an invaluable contribution to peace and stability.

‘We must play to our strengths and have the courage to follow our principles’

General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret.) commanded the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and then served as Director of the CIA. General Sir Peter Wall is the former head of the British Army and is Acting Chairman of Policy Exchange.