Tipping Point: Britain, Brexit and Security in the 2020s

Britain is facing big security challenges in the 2020s. The decade to come will not be as favourable as the two past decades. For a country as ‘globalised’ as Britain, security challenges cover a wide spectrum - from terrorism, international crime and cyber attack through to the prospects of war in its own continent or even, again, for its own survival. Brexit has entered these equations and turned them into a political tipping point, from which there is no hiding and no turning back. Tipping Point looks at the immediate and long-term security challenges Britain faces - from security and foreign policy to the crisis of liberal democracy - as well as Britain's security capabilities.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Britain's Long-Term Challenges 1. The Geopolitical Wheels 2. The Global Economic Turmoil 3. The Social Revolution 4. The Crisis of Liberal Democracy Britain's Immediate Challenges 5. Dealing with Great Powers 6. Securing from Within 7. Facing Global Institutions The Brexit Challenge 8. The Geopolitics of Brexit 9. Security and Foreign Policy 10. The Meaning of 'Global Britain' Britain's Security Capabilities 11. Governmental - Diplomacy, Defence, Intelligence and Security 12. Societal - Economics, Finance and Soft Power Conclusion 13. Strategic Surge for the 2020s

About the Author :
Professor Michael Clarke was Director General of the Royal United Services Institute from 2007-2015, where he remains a Distinguished Fellow. He is an adviser to two Parliamentary Committees and Associate Director of the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter. Helen Ramscar is an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute. She has worked in the House of Commons, the Royal Household and the US Embassy in London. She is a graduate of Durham University, SOAS and Cass Business School.

Review :
The world is unstable and dangerous. Yet the UK's sense of future purpose and direction is unclear. There is little consensus, indeed the country is divided. This exceptional book makes a compelling and in some respects surprising case for a strategic surge, an innovative national strategy to guide us through the post-Brexit era. The UK must find a route through a gathering storm, and fast. To do this we need some statesmen and some old-fashioned honest statecraft. If those who have our future in their hands are uncertain about what to do, it's easy. Hire Mike Clarke and Helen Ramscar, fast. The authors brilliantly chart the road ahead to the Tipping Point: the Brexit end of a United Europe just as America's "moral leadership" becomes a void, and China fills the gap. They tell us with striking insight how to survive and get to the other side. In a period of significant change in Britain, Clarke and Ramscar have outlined some of the key security challenges facing the United Kingdom in the coming decades. The questions raised in this book, as well as the authors’ call for a new emphasis on long-term strategic thought, merit our attention. ’Tipping Point’ captures the core dilemma that faces Britain today: we once thought we knew who we were, how the world worked and our place in it - even if there were lean as well as better times - but now we have to understand that we are adrift and in peril. The political thinking, the instruments of power, and the alliances that kept Britain afloat for decades either no longer work or are running on fumes, and what lies ahead jeopardizes our security and prosperity unless major action is taken. Brexit is the prism through which this will be viewed, but Brexit is neither the cause nor the solution. Unless Britain now understands and accepts some uncomfortable truths, sets aside outmoded policy, capability and method, and invests leadership, energy and resources in resetting how it acts at home and on the world stage the prospects are poor. This book explains why and points to what must now be done. For many of us who operate global enterprises out of the United States, we have long looked to London as a gateway to Europe. With the recent election confirming that Boris Johnson will lead Britain out of Europe early in 2020, that once dependable pathway will be blocked and the future of American business’ relationship with Britain will hang in the balance. Tipping Point, clearly explains the forces at play and the challenges facing Britain today. This understanding of global economic pressures, social forces and security vulnerabilities provides an valuable guide. Tipping Point is a must read for business leaders who seek to understand an evolving, and potentially, deteriorating Britain. Thankfully, in layman’s language, experts Michael Clarke and Helen Ramscar have written a prescription for a restored, revitalized Britain. They call for the creation of a “strategic surge” in resources and the political will to stabilize Britain and give it the chance to return as a trusted partner in the wider world. I certainly hope Tipping Point is widely read by government leaders, business executives and anyone who wishes to understand Brexit, Britain and the future of European stability. More importantly, I hope the recommendations offered by Clarke and Ramscar are adopted. Much depends on it. Clarke and Ramscar provide a strong grounding on which to understand Britain’s security futures and also to understand the challenges that face Britain well beyond Brexit. Looking at both the national and the global as well as the historical and the emergent, this book is written for both the scholar and the lay reader to inform and suggest the challenges that Britain faces and what it takes to find vigor in the face of them.