Tag Archives: liberal internationalism

Zoe Swanwick

The Independent View: “The Rising Price of Freedom”

By Zoe Swanwick | Thu 7th November 2024 - 12:44 pm

In 2011, Paddy Ashdown made a critical observation:

We are all now deeply, deeply, deeply interconnected… the idea of a nation state acting alone, not connected with others, not working with others, is no longer a viable proposition. Because the actions of a nation state are neither confined to itself, nor is it sufficient for the nation state itself to control its own territory, because the effects outside the nation state are now beginning to affect what happens inside them.

This led Ashdown to a deep commitment to multilateral cooperation, one which is at the heart of Liberal Democrat values—liberty, equality, democracy, community, human rights, internationalism, and environmentalism. Liberal internationalism, rooted in these values, has shaped the party’s support for open markets, cooperative security, and strong global institutions. It’s no surprise, then, that the Liberal Democrats remain steadfast advocates for EU membership and a proactive global role for the UK.

This liberal internationalist outlook has defined the Liberal Democrats for generations, and with 72 MPs in Parliament, it’s time to drive a more active, collaborative UK foreign policy.

As Labour unveiled its first Autumn Statement this year, however, the UK’s foreign policy prospects look bleak.

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | 4 Comments
Mark Valladares

Liberal Democrats and the world – the video!

By Mark Valladares | Mon 27th September 2021 - 11:15 am

In late July, the new Chair of the Party’s Federal International Relations Committee, Dr Phil Bennion, wrote in these pages of the Party’s renewed commitment to internationalism. It isn’t just words, as there’s now a video which outlines some of the work being done at home and abroad to promote our internationalist agenda, and here it is…

You may notice your friendly neighbourhood Day Editor at about 1:27 in…

* Mark Valladares is a directly elected member of Federal International Relations Committee and part of the Party’s delegation to the ALDE Party Council.

Posted in Europe / International, News and TV and film | 1 Comment
Phil Bennion

Conference to confirm our internationalism

By Phil Bennion | Mon 26th July 2021 - 3:02 pm

For years now committed internationalists in the party have complained that our reputation for internationalism is fading and that parish pump politics has taken over. Worries are being expressed that we could lose that internationalist core vote that has identified with us for decades. Despite serial attempts at proposing emergency motions on international crises to conference, these have repeatedly fallen way behind domestic issues in the ballot and not received a debate. Similarly droves of new members who joined us as pro-Europeans to fight Brexit have not seen their key issue high enough up the agenda. The good news is that change is on the way.

At Spring Conference our Europe motion which restated our long-term aim of getting back to the centre of Europe kicked off a new international focus. Working with our European allies is fundamental to the UK reclaiming a meaningful international presence. Autumn Conference this year will see several international themes on the agenda, as well as starting a series of detailed motions to give us a road map to the closest possible relationship with the EU, and eventual membership.

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Posted in Europe / International | Also tagged and | 36 Comments
Jonathan Fryer

We need a new international narrative

By Jonathan Fryer | Tue 28th January 2020 - 8:11 am

For the last four years the Liberal Democrats have been intensely focused on stopping Brexit, but we cannot ignore the fact that we failed to win that argument and Brexit is going to happen next Friday. Many of us hope that at some stage in the future Britain will rejoin the European Union. However, we need to adjust to the new reality. There is a strong case for crafting a clear political narrative that addresses major domestic problems such as the strain on public services (including the NHS), homelessness and the growing gap between rich and poor. But it would …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | 5 Comments
Bernard Aris

Our Liberal “Internationalism”, born in a period of party fragmentation, is now our uniting and unique selling point

By Bernard Aris | Thu 11th May 2017 - 1:10 pm

When you consult books about Liberal and Liberal Democrat party history about the birth of our “Internationalism”, European “Federalism” and our thesis that stand-alone nationstates (and “narrow nationalism”) become more and more obsolete, you discover a surprising fact.

According to Michael Steed’s chapter “Liberal Tradition” in Don MacIver’s bundle “The Liberal Democrats” (from 1996), it was in the comprehensive policy survey “The Liberal Way” of 1934, that we stated that in future, “narrow nationalist” parties everywhere would face parties, the Liberals firmly among them, supporting the growing, factual interdependence as best policy basis. Philip Kerr, marquis of Lothian, said (1935): “the only final remedy for war is a federation of nations”. But personal guilt about having himself written the War Damages clause in the Versailles Treaty made Kerr become an  advocate of appeasement to Germany, a Liberal dissident, until the Munich Agreement.

Both Chris Cook’s history of the Liberals in 1900-’76, and Robert  Ingham & Duncan Brack’s authoritative bundle “Peace Reform & Liberation” (PRL; 2001) tell that this  “interdependence  makes collectivism better policy”-idea was formulated in a phase of disintegration of the Liberal party (the split about the 1931 National Government; desertions to the National Liberals and Labour; loss of seats).  

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 20 Comments
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