UK's Political Role (OCR GCSE Geography B)

Political Role

• During the days of the British Empire, the UK was a major influence in world affairs

• British political, economic, social and cultural influences dramatically shaped many countries it ruled

• Nowadays, the UK's influence is less but still plays an important role in global politics

• This is achieved by being a member of major global organisations such as:

  • World Bank (WB): formed at the end of WWII to help rebuild Europe

    • As a founding member, the UK and the WB work together to develop policies on a wide range of issues, such as conflict prevention, governance, health, and education  

  • United Nations (UN): founded in 1945 to maintain peace and resolve internal conflicts

    • The UN aims to provide aid during crises, along with helping countries to achieve sustainable growth

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO): a group of 28 countries, including the USA and many European countries, who work together to ensure their own security

    • They try to prevent conflict by promoting cooperation and resolving conflict by political means (e.g. overseeing negotiations) and military means (as a last resort)

  • Group of Seven (G7): seven members (UK, USA, France, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Italy) who meet once a year to discuss relevant issues, including economic policies, conflict, energy supply and security, and come to agreements about how best to approach them

    • This used to be the G8, but Russia was forced out in 2014, after it seized Crimea

    • Member countries, including the UK, imposed sanctions on Russia e.g. restricting the amount of money Russian banks can borrow and limiting trade with Russia

UK's role in conflict zones

• A conflict zone is an area where two or more groups are in disagreement which results in economic, social, or military aggression

• Current examples of countries in conflict that the UK has some involvement include:

  • Syria

    • Syria's civil war has resulted in more than 350,000 people being killed since 2011

    • 14 million of Syria's 21 million population, have been forced to flee

    • Of that, 6.8 million, remain internally displaced within Syria

    • Approximately 5.5 million refugees have fled to 5 neighbouring countries - Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq

    • About 1 million Syrians crossed into Europe to seek asylum, including 34,000 to the UK

    • Germany is the largest host country with more than 850,000 Syrian refugees

    • 90% of the remaining population lives below the poverty line

    • The UK has provided a total of £3.8 billion in official development assistance (ODA) to Syria from 2011 to 2022

    • Since 2011, Syria has been one of the largest recipients of UK bilateral ODA in Asia

    • For 2023, the Government pledged £150 million to Syria and a further £43 million to Turkey and Syria following the February 2023 earthquakes

  • Yemen

    • The UK played a crucial role in the establishment of the People's Republic of South Yemen after withdrawing as colonial rulers in 1967

    • The UK is a donor to the humanitarian relief effort in Yemen and provides training to the Saudi and Yemeni forces to fight the Houthi rebels

    • The UK has given over £1 billion in aid to Yemen since 2015, although the amount is falling each year, the UK has pledged £88 million in 2022/23

  • Afghanistan

    • Between 1878 and 1880, British-Indian forces fought to keep Afghanistan free from Russian interference

    • In 2001 after the '9/11' terrorist attacks in America, the UK, with the US and other allies, sent troops to destroy al-Qaeda, and the Taliban who had backed them

    • In 2011, after the assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces, the UK began withdrawing from Afghanistan and culminated in 2014 with Camp Bastion being handed over to Afghan forces

    • With the Taliban's return to power in 2021, the UK formally withdrew all training and advisory assistance 

  • Ukraine

    • When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the UK has provided a range of economic, humanitarian, and defensive military aid to Ukraine, along with economic sanctions on Russia

    • From 2010 to 2020, the UK provided approx. £204 million in conditional bilateral aid (aid has been given for a specific programme or purpose) to Ukraine

    • Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK has provided £4.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine

    • The UK is willing to guarantee lending to Ukraine from multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank (WB), of which the UK is a founding member

    • In February 2022, the UK guaranteed up to US$1.5 billion in multilateral development bank lending to Ukraine

    • Also as a G7 member, during the June 2022 summit, the G7 members pledged £24 billion in budget support for Ukraine, and a further £2.3 billion in humanitarian aid 

  • Somalia

    • Formed in 1960 after the withdrawal of Italy and the UK

    • Disputes over land that Somali people settled broke out between Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Somalia

    • With the removal of the Somali president in1991, chaos ensued, with no formal government in charge for 20 years

    • Drought and famine killed an estimated 500,000 people due to a lack of government

    • In 2012 an internationally backed government was established and a degree of stability returned

    • However, this has left Somalia as one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world

    • Somalia has been linked with Islamic terrorism and piracy with ships being attacked in the Indian Ocean, with passengers and crews being held ransom

    • The UK has sent aid, money, and troops in a bid to help Somalia regain stability, rebuild Mogadishu's central prison and build an anti-piracy naval force

    • Several UK NGOs such as Oxfam and Save the Children, work in Somalia to reduce poverty and issues of health and women's rights