Azeem Ibrahim is one of the world’s most prominent commentators.
A powerful call for Britain to revive the strategic traditions that once made it formidable.
A bold grand strategy.
Timely, incisive and urgently needed.
A masterful wake-up call.
Sober and compelling.
A rigorous blueprint for British statecraft.
An urgent call to choose relevance over drift.
“Britain stands at a crossroads. Once a great power with unmatched diplomatic reach, strategic clarity, and global purpose, the United Kingdom now finds itself navigating a world transformed: an unmoored United States, an internally divided Europe, the rise of assertive authoritarian states, and domestic debates that too often descend into empty moralising rather than serious statecraft.
A Greater Britain: Rethinking the UK’s Global Strategy offers a bold and urgent reimagining of what British power can - and must - be in the twenty-first century. Drawing on history, contemporary geopolitics, and lessons from Britain’s own institutional strengths, the book argues that decline is not inevitable. But reversing drift requires something successive governments have lacked: a coherent vision, a strategic doctrine rooted in reality, and a serious plan for national renewal.
The book sets out a practical blueprint for rebuilding British state capacity, revitalising diplomacy, harnessing defence innovation, and positioning the UK as a confident, constructive, and values-driven power in a fragmented world. Through clear analysis and concrete proposals, A Greater Britain challenges policymakers to rediscover strategic seriousness - and invites citizens to imagine a country capable once again of shaping the global order rather than being shaped by it.”
Prof. Sir Hew
STRACHAN
CVO DL FRSE FRHistS FBA
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim OBE is an internationally renowned scholar, strategist, and author whose work spans geopolitics, national security, and human rights. He serves as Chief Strategy Officer at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, D.C., and is a Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to foreign policy, recognising his contributions to UK and allied strategic thinking. His research and policy engagement have taken him from the corridors of Whitehall and Washington to conflict zones and humanitarian crises around the world.
Dr. Ibrahim earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has also studied at Oxford, Harvard, and Yale, giving him a distinctive academic breadth across the world’s leading institutions.
He is the author of the acclaimed book The Authoritarian Century: Omens of a Post-Liberal Future, a major work on the rise of illiberal power and the crisis of democratic governance.
He is also a columnist at Foreign Policy and has published over 1,000 op-eds in major international outlet, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Arab News, The Spectator, and many others.
Over the past two decades, he has advised heads of government, military leaders, and international organisations on strategic planning, defence transformation, and the future of liberal democracy.
In A Greater Britain, he brings together years of research, policy experience, and firsthand engagement with global crises to offer a compelling and ambitious vision for Britain’s future role in the world. His work is rooted in the conviction that democracies succeed when they combine moral purpose with strategic clarity - and that the UK still has the foundations to do both.
Prof. John
Bew
Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to four UK Prime Ministers
“Dr Ibrahim has produced a powerful call for Britain to revivify some of the strategic traditions which served it so well in the past. In this important book, he advocates a shift away from cautious managerialism to a renewal of national purpose, in both domestic and international affairs.”
Rt. Hon. Sir Sajid
Javid
Frm UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
“A bold and timely contribution to the debate about Britain’s future. Ibrahim brings strategic clarity and a global perspective that deserves serious attention. Azeem Ibrahim offers a bold and thought-provoking contribution to the debate about Britain’s role in a changing world. Whether one agrees with every prescription or not, his strategic clarity and global perspective make this an important and timely book for anyone serious about the UK’s future.”
Prof. Brendan
Simms
Professor of the history of international relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge.
“A closely-reasoned, sober and compelling critique of British statecraft and how it can be improved.”
Rt. Hon. Sir Brandon
Lewis
Frm Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for justice
“A Greater Britain is a bold, intellectually rigorous and timely work that challenges conventional thinking about Britain’s role in a rapidly fragmenting global order. Dr Azeem Ibrahim combines academic depth with real-world policy insight to deliver a compelling blueprint for British statecraft, growth and global influence in this changing and developing century. This is essential reading for policymakers, business leaders and anyone serious about Britain’s future.”
Emma
SKY OBE
Founding Director - Yale's International Leadership Center
“In A Greater Britain, Azeem Ibrahim highlights the qualities that have long made Britain a force for good, outlines the renewal required for the country to realize its full potential, identifies the reforms needed for national renewal, and argues for a bold grand strategy - one befitting a leading Middle Power with strong strategic partnerships - to help shape a global order fit for the 21st century.”
Dr. Nile
Gardiner
Former aide to Lady Margaret Thatcher, Director, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation
“Azeem Ibrahim’s compelling new book A Greater Britain: Rethinking UK Grand Strategy and Statecraft is a masterful and urgent wake-up call for Britain’s policymakers and thought leaders. It is an emphatic rejection of the idea of British decline and a powerful agenda for British regeneration and renewal based upon the firm foundations of the transatlantic alliance. The bold ideas presented by Professor Ibrahim, based on decades of experience as a leading national security expert, are essential reading on both sides of the Atlantic at a critical moment for the free world in the face of mounting challenges and threats from our adversaries.”
Dr. Alan
Mendoza
Founder and the Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society, Chief Foreign Policy Advisor, Reform UK
“A Greater Britain is a bracing call for the United Kingdom to rediscover the purpose, confidence, and strategic discipline that once made it a global leader. Dr Ibrahim masterfully outlines how Britain need not accept managed decline as inevitable in an era where the threat of an increasingly authoritarian world order demands our attention. Combining sharp diagnosis with a coherent programme for renewal, he sets out how Britain can reclaim its voice through economic strength, institutional reform, strategic alliances, and cultural confidence. This is an urgent call for a nation that must choose relevance over drift, purpose over paralysis and to put to work the potential squandered by years of timid leadership.”
