The folly of our withdrawal, in ceding Afghanistan to the very insurgency we went in to defeat, has not only unleashed another dark chapter in this troubled nation’s modern history, but is also confirmation of just how weak the west has become in shaping our world for the better.

We should not underestimate the geopolitical significance of what we are witnessing: a belated recognition that the triumph of western liberalism after the fall of the Soviet Union is over. The high-water mark from postwar democracy is behind us. Whenever great nations lose the will to protect their values, chaos invariably follows.

The Covid pandemic has already exposed how protectionist our world was becoming, prompting countries to further retreat from global exposure. At the same time, the west has become increasingly risk-averse, losing sight of what it is we stand for, believe in and are willing to defend. Our adversaries have not been slow to exploit our weakness.

This is not the first time the United States has stepped back, but this time it’s different. Vietnam is often cited as a defeat that failed to interrupt America’s global power and standing. But back then, Washington’s determination to confront the Soviet Union, support its allies and defend its values was never questioned. Far from pulling up stumps, Reagan doubled down on the US’s global mission. Sixteen years after the helicopters left Saigon, communism, once seemingly invincible, was in ruins. This, said Francis Fukuyama, was “the end of history”. Instead, the west’s period of dominance under the Pax Americana is revealed to be the shortest of all those great powers that bestrode the world. President Xi’s China is waiting patiently.

For more than 80 years, we were the bridge between America and Europe. Post-Brexit, we are no longer the go-to country when the White House wants a second opinion. The back channels are significantly diminished and our relationship both with our European allies and the US is at its lowest for a generation. We have lost the passion and the art of leadership and have caused further reputational damage in the unattractive blame game over Afghanistan that has played out so publicly between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This unseemly, unprofessional squabbling must stop.

It is true that these two departments could co-ordinate and communicate better. I was a minister in both and witnessed first hand the scale of duplication on security matters. If we are serious about rekindling any status of global leadership, as we’ve done in the past, then there’s more to do than just knocking heads together or moving the deckchairs around.

Whitehall requires a complete overhaul. Our foreign policy is too reactive and lacking in confidence - it doesn’t set us apart for what we stand for, only for some things we stand against. Despite the fanfare of our “global Britain” branding, the Whitehall bandwidth is too limited and not sufficiently strategic to offer the big picture thought-leadership that has the potential to help generate solutions to international problems.

These are ever more dangerous and unpredictable times. Do we, once again, have the appetite to step into the void and lead? I know what Churchill and Thatcher would have done. The foundations that have served us well in the past remain strong. Our values, trust, reach and connectivity along with our hard and soft power are arguably among the best in the world. But if we are serious about being a “problem-solving, burden-sharing nation”, we don’t just require a cabinet reshuffle but must facilitate the largest overhaul of Whitehall culture and operations since the war.

When Britain lost America, we built the empire. When we lost the empire, we sought Europe. Now we seem to have lost both with no plan B. Our departure from Afghanistan has no doubt made the world more unstable. My fear is that, without a revival of our will to lead in the world, it will make us ever less relevant. This is not where Britain should go.

Source: The Guardian

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