Foreign and Defence Policy

Abstract

Foreign and defence policy are traditional and fundamental tasks of government, and although the boundary between them and other governmental areas like economic and social policy has shifted over the years, their intrinsic importance is reflected in the seniority of the ministers usually appointed to the respective departments. Their political importance can be distinguished, however, using the difference that Clement Attlee noted. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is a ‘policy’ department, giving great political visibility: Defence (MOD) is an ‘administrative’ department where, although high policy is made, a minister must have good managerial skills as well. Politically, it is a less weighty appointment. Functionally, the two offices are closely linked nowadays because of Britain’s dependence for security upon international alliances, notably NATO. The FCO and the MOD both see themselves as experienced instruments of policy-formulation and administration, supporting — indeed embodying — professional groups of activists in the diplomatic and military staffs. They have a high degree of esprit de corps and of internal cohesion.