UK TO ISSUE UPDATED NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000289 NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL UK SUBJECT: UK TO ISSUE UPDATED NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY BY JULY REF: A) 08 LONDON 1001 B) LONDON 266 Classified By: Political Counselor Richard M. Mills, Jr. for reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) As part of its National Security Strategy (NSS) updating process, HMG is conducting a series of 12 workshops, with the goal of developing material to update each of the 12 strategic challenges identified in the NSS released in March ¶2008. The workshops are being conducted by the Cabinet Office and the Government Office of Science's Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Invitees to the workshops include representatives from across HMG, seleted embassies, academia, think tanks and NGOs. The results of the workshops will be incorporated into the NSS update, scheduled to be released in July, according to Cabinet Office personnel. ¶2. (SBU) Poloff was invited to participate in a daylong session which focused on "Challenges to the Rules-based International System." The workshop concluded that a new multipolarity would be driven by the fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and that a coordinated global response to climate change and growing resource scarcity would be defining components of multilateral relations and driving forces behind how international and regional institutions interact. The workshop also focused on the possibilities for strengthening international institutions, particularly the UN, given the difference in how the current and previous U.S. Administrations view multilateralism. ¶3. (C/NF) Comment: Cabinet Office contacts emphasized to us that changing conditions, including the global financial/economic crisis and new U.S. Administration, justify the expense and personnel-hours for 12 NSS workshops. Another likely explanation is that the reaction to the original NSS release was less than exultant. A number of our interlocutors, government and non-government alike, complained publicly and privately that the March 2008 NSS was far too broad and general to be of any substantive value to policy makers and implementers and that many of their suggestions for improvements to initial drafts were discarded or ignored (ref A). One FCO contact even commented that the current NSS had no value or bearing on HMG policy discussion, but that HMG needed a good strategic document to help prioritize initiatives, especially with major budget cuts in the works (ref B). The inclusive workshops may be an attempt to avoid similar negative reviews of the July update. End Comment. Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom LEBARON