TY - JOUR

T1 - British foreign policy towards Latin America in the twenty-first century

T2 - Assessing the “Canning Agenda"

AU - Mills, Thomas Christopher

N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in International Affairs following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Thomas C. Mills; British foreign policy towards Latin America in the twenty-first century: assessing the ‘Canning Agenda’, International Affairs, Volume 94, Issue 6, 1 November 2018, Pages 1391–1408, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiy196 is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/ia/article/94/6/1391/5162440

PY - 2018/11/1

Y1 - 2018/11/1

N2 - In November 2010, the then British Foreign Secretary William Hague delivered Canning House's annual lecture on the topic of Britain's relations with Latin America. In launching the so-called ‘Canning Agenda’, Hague pledged to ‘halt the decline in Britain's diplomatic presence in Latin America’. ‘It is now time’, Hague went on, ‘for an advance to begin’. This article represents the first scholarly analysis of this policy. In particular, it assesses British efforts to enhance its economic ties with the countries of Latin America; the status granted to Latin America in Britain's strategic world-view in the post-Brexit era; the impact on Britain of other external powers in the region; and the political relationships between Britain and the countries of Latin America. The article draws on interviews with the key policy-makers involved in the Canning Agenda, including William Hague, Sir Hugo Swire, Jeremy Browne, and several other officials and diplomats from Britain and throughout Latin America. It concludes that while an identifiable effort to enhance Britain's economic and political standing in Latin America is discernible since 2010, major impediments to achieving this goal persist across the range of areas explored.

AB - In November 2010, the then British Foreign Secretary William Hague delivered Canning House's annual lecture on the topic of Britain's relations with Latin America. In launching the so-called ‘Canning Agenda’, Hague pledged to ‘halt the decline in Britain's diplomatic presence in Latin America’. ‘It is now time’, Hague went on, ‘for an advance to begin’. This article represents the first scholarly analysis of this policy. In particular, it assesses British efforts to enhance its economic ties with the countries of Latin America; the status granted to Latin America in Britain's strategic world-view in the post-Brexit era; the impact on Britain of other external powers in the region; and the political relationships between Britain and the countries of Latin America. The article draws on interviews with the key policy-makers involved in the Canning Agenda, including William Hague, Sir Hugo Swire, Jeremy Browne, and several other officials and diplomats from Britain and throughout Latin America. It concludes that while an identifiable effort to enhance Britain's economic and political standing in Latin America is discernible since 2010, major impediments to achieving this goal persist across the range of areas explored.

U2 - 10.1093/ia/iiy196

DO - 10.1093/ia/iiy196

M3 - Journal article

VL - 94

SP - 1391

EP - 1408

JO - International Affairs

JF - International Affairs

SN - 0020-5850

IS - 6

ER -