So what is this grand #GlobalBritain project that PM @BorisJohnson spoke of in his announcement of the #DfIDmerger yesterday, and what does Britain's #history, and the debate about its representation in the public sphere, have to do with this?
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#statues #Churchill

The decision to merge the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the Department for International Development was no surprise. Leaving aside the pros & cons of this plan, it is interesting that the PM @BorisJohnson framed it as the next step of the #GlobalBritain project. 2/

#GlobalBritain, once a catchphrase for Leave campaigners and newspaper columnist during the #Brexit referendum, has been an official government project for some time. The FCO has a website dedicated to it. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/global-britain-delivering-on-our-international-ambition 3/

From a historian's perspective, it is fascinating to see how history is being used to explain and advocate for this project. #GlobalBritain is being depicted by the UK government as the natural next project for a country with the UK's history. A logical consequence of its past.4/

On 3 February 2020, @BorisJohnson said:'This is the moment for us to think about our past&go up a gear,to recapture the spirit of those seafaring ancestors(...)whose exploits brought not just riches but something even more important than that - and that was a global perpective.'5

In a speech in the @HouseofCommons on 13.1.2020, @DominicRaab went even further, combining references to Britain's past with what he sees as #GlobalBritain 's 'mission' in the world, a 'mission to be a force for good'. 6/

According to this rhetoric, being 'global' is Britain's destiny, and it was #Brexit which allowed the UK to fulfil that destiny. Brexit is being celebrated as a moment of departure, which made the return to Britain's natural, 'historic' place in the world possible. 7/

One does not have to be an expert in imperial and global history to know that this description of the past is highly selective. It would indeed be absurd to argue that Britain has no global past. But there was more to it than the PM's #GlobalBritain narrative would allow. 8/

The emphasis on being a 'sea-faring' and 'free-trading' nation leaves aside those aspects of Britain's history which the #BlackLivesMatter movement & the debate about #statues & memorials highlighted in recent weeks, such as the #slavetrade & the darker sides of imperialism. 9/

Another obvious contradiction in the #GlobalBritain narrative is its perception of Europe. How can #Brexit be the moment when the UK is finally released to embrace its 'global' destiny, when Europe is not only part of the globe, but also shares a global history? 10/

Many EU member states have an imperial history of their own, and if the debates and #BlackLivesMatter protests of the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that we all have quite a bit of catching up to do on how this has influenced our worldview. 11/

From the point of view of historical methodology, it is questionable to isolate the conflicts & diplomatic struggles on the continent from those on the global stage. The choice between Europe &the world was never binary for the UK, & is highly unlikely to become so in future. 12/

The #DfIDmerger is being described as a step which will help a newly 'independent', 'free-trading' Britain to maximise its influence abroad. If that is really the purpose, why are they merging foreign&development policy in one department, and not foreign policy and trade? 13/

EU membership didn't hinder the UK in pursuing an independent foreign policy. While we await the Security Defence and Foreign Policy Review, the #DfIDmerger gives insight into how the UK Government sees Britain's past. It does not explain its grand strategy for the future. 14/end

cc @redhistorian @alanbeattie @PBahners