Charm Offensive: Resetting the UK’s soft power approach for a more dangerous and competitive world
Executive Summary
As 2025 gets underway, the UK finds itself at an exceptionally difficult geopolitical moment. Uncertainty abounds. Rather than bringing decisive clarity, 2024 – the year of elections – saw a number of world leaders booted from office or hamstrung with unworkable parliamentary arithmetic. Conflict continues to rage on mainland Europe, as it takes on an increasingly global dimension. Economic planners and central bankers are gearing up for potential trade wars between ostensible allies and the likely ‘stagflation’ to follow. Zero-sum foreign policy calculus is in the ascendancy, and frontier technology is set to upend conceivably every economic sector. In short, leaders need to be at the very best in order to successfully steer their countries through the choppy waters that lie ahead.
Given the tight fiscal context facing the Government, the UK will need to make the most of its existing foreign policy tools. While Russian aggression has reminded foreign policy planners across the West that security and defence capabilities are ignored at their peril, soft power – the ability to change the behaviour of others through attraction and persuasion – will remain critical to the UK’s capacity to shape international outcomes that will impact citizens at home.
Reassuringly, the UK remains firmly within the top-tier of soft power countries. It holds a remarkably well-balanced set of national resources that generate attraction and positive sentiment from global audiences, backed by a world-class diplomatic service capable of leveraging those assets. However, over the last ten years, the UK’s soft power has been in relative decline. A combination of poorly perceived policy choices, political instability, and a distinct lack of an overarching national narrative have left the UK’s soft power standing on a downward trajectory.
This was the collective view gathered from semi-structured interviews with a carefully selected set of 25 high-level British and international professionals working in and around foreign affairs at the intersection of diplomacy, politics, business, media, culture, and academia. While the recent deterioration of British soft power is concerning, it is hardly an irrevocable disaster. Interviewees made clear that with a credible reset, the UK can repair the recent reputational damage suffered, and return to a leading role in global affairs on the issues that matter most.
Bringing about the necessary reset must begin with a recognition that soft power has itself fundamentally changed since the pandemic. For much of this century, discourse on soft power has centred on factors like arts, culture, heritage, and the consumer-facing elements of countries. Yet, over the last few years, there has been a marked shift toward harder-edged national attributes linked to national capabilities, scientific progress, and technological prowess as the new drivers of country reputation, and thus soft power. Understanding this shift in the nature of soft power will allow the Government to move forward with a viable strategic reset. The overriding conclusion from the research carried out for this report is that the foundation of a new soft power strategy must be a compelling new national narrative for the country. A uniting, positive national story presents an opportunity to pivot to an optimistic vision for the UK, tying together the country’s ambitions at home and abroad.
The UK has the resources to achieve this, and the political will to do so, as set out recently by the Prime Minister in his Mansion House Speech: “there is still a huge amount of goodwill towards the UK around the world. People see our incredible strengths. They want to work with us. We’ve already made real progress towards renewing Britain’s standing on the international stage. And we have been welcomed back with open arms. Partners are pleased to see us reconnecting. Confident, outward looking, responsible. Committed to longstanding values like stability, international law, the UN Charter and ready to lead.” Soft power sits at the very heart of the Prime Minister’s articulated ambition. But to effectively bring a new strategy to fruition, there are a host of tactical and operational considerations that must also be solved.
To help shape and drive the development and implementation of a new soft power strategy, the Government will need a new guiding blueprint. Employing a three-pillar structure, this paper puts forward a new proposed framework, backed by a set of high-level recommendations under each theme. Informed by the research carried out for this project, the new soft power pillars have been conceived with three overriding concerns in mind. First, to create a framework that is compatible with the UK’s unique resources and capabilities. Second, to reflect the ways in which the nature of soft power is evolving to take on a harder edge. Finally, to reset the UK’s engagement proposition with its international partners while pushing for an approach to soft power that prioritise the shaping of global outcomes. To that end, the pillars and their associated recommendations are set out below.
Pillar One: Narrative, Projection, & Shaping the Information Landscape
1. Interviews conducted for this report made clear that the UK has lacked a compelling and coherent post-Brexit narrative for the country. A new national narrative has to be at the very heart of a new soft power strategy. International partners need to be clear on the UK’s global ambitions and what it brings to the wider international community. As a first step, the Government needs to set out a new national story, rooted in the proven complement of the UK’s soft power resources and shaped by a clear ambition that links the Government’s domestic policy agenda with the UK’s wider global purpose and international objectives. In the past, the UK has over-indexed on national attributes like arts, culture, and heritage in promoting the country abroad. Going forward, a new national narrative needs to make British prowess in science, technology, and innovation the heart of the UK’s story – positioning the UK as a globally engaged problem solver.
2. Since 2011, the GREAT campaign has served as the Government’s centrally-run branding and communications platform, run out of No. 10 and the Cabinet Office. It has been responsible for creating a consistent and coherent brand in the promotion of the UK to international audiences. The collective view from research interviews is that the Government needs to overhaul the positioning, branding, and messaging of the GREAT campaign, as its messaging is seen as outdated. However, HMG should retain the best of GREAT’s structures, institutional knowledge, and capabilities. This should be done once a new national narrative has been set and endorsed by the Foreign Secretary.
3. The British Council and the BBC are two soft power institutions that serve as force multipliers for the UK and were singled out by several interviewees as deserving of a financial boost. Recognising the fiscal realities facing HMG, there is broad agreement on the need to end collective complacency around both institutions. They would be impossible to recreate, but they are both at risk of death by a thousand cuts. The fact that emerging powers have tried to create similar institutions – with more money but far less impact – shows their importance.
4. Linked closely to the third recommendation is a question of maintaining Britain’s global media influence. Several interviewees noted that while historically strong, the UK has struggled to keep pace with major powers in responding to a fast changing, more globally connected landscape. HMG should launch a comprehensive review into how the UK can improve the operating environment for British news media, film, TV, music, publishing, and digital media, with a specific angle on global reach and international competitiveness.
Pillar Two: Science, Technology, & Capability
5. As set out in a recent RAND Corporation report, a driving national ambition is critical to the success of globally competitive countries. The Government needs to imbue a new narrative with science, technology, and innovation at its core. This narrative then needs to be the platform for all international communications, promotion, and engagement. The Foreign Office Soft Power Unit should take the lead on pushing engagement and communications toward a greater focus on science and technology. At the same time, promotion of the UK should be framed in a collaborative, solutions-based approach to international partnerships - not glorifying the UK in isolation.
6. In line with the new narrative and a drive to tilt engagement toward science and technology themes, the Foreign Office should develop and roll out a public diplomacy strategy to make this shift real. As part of that process, the Foreign Office should provide diplomatic missions with new direction and content. This should take the form of a new science and technology focused soft power toolkit (messaging, facts, stats, collateral, etc) and set benchmarks for promoting Britain’s science and technology credentials abroad while establishing partnerships in priority markets.
7. Alongside this public diplomacy strategy, HMG should launch a new FCDO/DSIT/DBT initiative to review and strengthen the UK’s science diplomacy efforts with key international partners. As part of this effort, this could mean creating a central challenge fund for diplomatic missions to submit bids for new science and tech focused public diplomacy initiatives. Such a challenge fund has previously existed but was more focused on cultural diplomacy.
8. As frontier technologies take on a determining role in the future of national development and global competition, the UK has an important global role to play as a model for smart frontier tech regulation. HMG should establish a joint FCDO/DSIT/DBT working group on global governance for frontier technology, firmly positioning Britain as a primary driver of the debate and formation of future global governance and regulatory agreements.
Pillar Three: Global Network & Solutions
9. When deciding where, geographically, the UK should prioritise its soft power efforts, the government faces a unique challenge and opportunity. While no longer a ‘great power’, in the way that the US or China is, the UK does have global reach, interests and influence, be it diplomatic, economic, or security – or all three. Recognising finite resources and the need for targeted engagement, HMG should conduct a ‘soft power blitz’ in Europe and the US while simultaneously assessing geographic priorities for wider engagement. Any assessment should carefully consider the UK’s ‘offer’ to international partners, its strategic interests and objectives, and the most effective use of finite soft power resources.
10. As has been heavily trailed, a new Soft Power Council, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, launches in January. Interviewees were broadly in favour but raised a few important caveats to their endorsement. First, ensure members of the new Council have a clear mandate to develop and recommend new policies and initiatives; second, set transparent expectations and milestones for output and activity; and finally, include representatives from DSIT and science and technology bodies.
11. The Foreign Secretary should also consider ways to leverage the heft of the Soft Power Council membership in a public facing way. This means equipping them with resources to become global ambassadors for British soft power. Rather than limiting their knowledge and expertise to closed-door conversations, members should be sent abroad so they can serve as representatives of UK plc. at key events and forums.
12. Finally, on where HM Government looks to use soft power, the UK should prioritise science and technology, specifically looking to lead on the future of frontier tech global governance. Beyond that, the Government needs to be clear on other soft power priorities. At present, leading on global public health and climate policy would be the strongest candidates. Soft power is a long-term commitment. A new strategy for British soft power must be designed to last beyond parliamentary cycles. Continuity will be critical if Britain is to recover its global reputation as a stable, reliable, and effective international partner. A sustained commitment to addressing a targeted set of major global issues will give the UK a long-term focus and maintain its centrality as a serious global player.