People before profit: modern approach to foreign policy
Sarah Cartin, Vice Chair of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Sarah is an elected Vice Chair of both CND and Yorkshire CND, where she blogs infrequently. She often has an opinion about something on Twitter and enjoys any excuse for a day trip to her local US Missile ' Defence ' bases at Menwith Hill and Fylingdales in Yorkshire. Having previously worked for Yorkshire CND and a Trade Union, Sarah now works for Bradford Law Centre, which is still a charity and part of a national Law centres network.
www. yorkshirecnd. org. uk / blogs Twitter- @ sarahcartin
What would make a progressive, consistent and modern foreign policy approach? What would undo hundreds of years of global exploitation, aggression and persecution, all executed for the economic and resource demands of the British state?
Britain as a ' Global Power '
Proposing a new route, a new pathway to a help create a peaceful, secure world is no easy task and requires the commitment and mindset of a whole new approach to international relations. The status quo must no longer be the primary justification for interventionism, threats and aggression. Hypocritical approaches to escalating regional conflicts must no longer be justified as‘ in the British interest’. Britain must take an approach that will be very hard to swallow and will undermine centuries-held attitudes towards influence and power. Britain is no longer the ultimate‘ Global Power ', and most importantly, many of the problems we face at home can be resolved by a progressive and peaceful approach to the rest of the world.
' Hypocritical approaches to escalating regional conflicts must no longer be justified as in the British interest '
Nuclear weapons
The first step on that journey must be the unequivocal commitment to the abandonment and dismantling of Britain ' s nuclear weapons system, Trident or any proposed successor. The immediate impact of such a decision at home would send a decisive, progressive message to the rest of the world. The economic benefits of such a decision are well documented; schools, hospitals, universities, welfare and a long-term approach to support our ageing society. In one simple step a future government could secure the future safety of billions of people across the world whilst providing real investment into the resources and infrastructure that are greatly valued and are in greatest demand. No more penny pinching and scapegoating of the weakest in our
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