Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably during the so-called "Pax Britannica"—a period of unrivaled supremacy and unprecedented international peace during the mid-to-late 1800s.

The country continued to be widely considered a superpower until the Suez crisis of 1956 and the dismantling of the British Empire left the UK's dominant role in global affairs to be gradually diminished.

A favoured British diplomatic strategy involved subsidising the armies of continental allies (such as Prussia), thereby turning London's enormous financial power to military advantage.

Britain relied heavily on its Royal Navy for security, seeking to keep it the most powerful fleet afloat, eventually with a full complement of bases across the globe.

[1] The main themes of British foreign policy included a leading role at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920, where Lloyd George worked hard to moderate French demands for revenge on Germany.

Hitler however cut a deal with Joseph Stalin to divide Eastern Europe (23 August 1939); when Germany did invade Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war, and the British Commonwealth followed London's lead.

In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt met and agreed on the Atlantic Charter, which proclaimed "the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live" should be respected.

The cumulative costs of fighting two world wars, however, placed a heavy burden upon the home economy, and after 1945 the British Empire rapidly began to disintegrate, with all the major colonies gaining independence.

[29][30] In 2013, the government of David Cameron described its approach to foreign policy by saying:[31] The UK began establishing air and naval facilities in the Persian Gulf, located in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman in 2014–15.

[122][failed verification] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization.

[103] The UK governed Pakistan from 1824 to 1947, as part of the British Raj which also included modern day India and Bangladesh, until it achieved full independence.

Singapore retained the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal up till 1989 (fully abolished in 1994) due to political reasons.

[170] Both countries share common membership of the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, OSCE, Trilateral Security Pact, and the World Trade Organization.

Both countries share common membership of the Caribbean Development Bank, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.

Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic Co-operation Pact,[550] Caribbean Development Bank, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.

Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] Commonwealth, CPTPP, Five Eyes, the G7, the G20, the International Criminal Court, NATO, OECD, OSCE, UKUSA Agreement, and the World Trade Organization.

[69] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.

[81][better source needed] Both countries share common membership of the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the Central America–UK Association Agreement.

[63] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the Central America–UK Association Agreement.

Both countries share common membership of the Caribbean Development Bank, Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, the World Trade Organization, and the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.

[51] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic Co-operation Pact,[201] AUKUS, Five Eyes, the G7, the G20, NATO, OECD, OSCE, UKUSA Agreement, the UNSC P5, and the World Trade Organization.

Both countries share common membership of AUKUS, the Commonwealth, CPTPP, Five Eyes, the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the G20, the International Criminal Court, OECD, the UKUSA Agreement, and the World Trade Organization.

Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the Pacific States–United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement.

Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth, CPTPP, Five Eyes, the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the International Criminal Court, OECD, the UKUSA Agreement, and the World Trade Organization.

[59][better source needed] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] the G20, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization.

Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[201] the Caribbean Development Bank, the Commonwealth, the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement.

[624] Both countries share common membership of the Atlantic co-operation pact,[625] the International Criminal Court, and the World Trade Organization, as well as the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement,[626] and Caribbean Development Bank.