Tom Howe is a second-year PhD candidate at the University of Warwick and Monash University, whose research focuses on exceptionalism in British foreign policy. Within this, Tom adopts a theoretical perspective grounded in Ontological Security studies and Lacanian international relations theory and empirically focuses on the Anglosphere and the British-Australian relationship.

British foreign and security policy is often recounted through certain pivotal events, such as the 1968 decision to end British military basing east of the Suez Canal. For Boris Johnson, this signalled a victory for the European Economic Community and the beginning of the UK's Eurocentric approach to world affairs. However, with the UK's exit from the European Union and the advent of 'Global Britain', a new direction emerged - the much vaunted tilt to the Indo-Pacific. As outlined in the 2021 Integrated Review and reaffirmed in the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh, this strategic shift aims to strengthen the UK's engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific and once again make the region a pillar of British foreign policy. As such, this talk will examine the UK's Indo-Pacific tilt, placing it within its wider historical context before discussing its rationale and most significant policy manifestations. The talk will conclude with a review of challenges that may undermine this pillar of post-Brexit grand strategy.