Weighing in at 114 pages, the strategy says many things (as these documents are wont to do), but most significant among them are a commitment to shaping an open and resilient international order that protects human freedoms, deeper engagement in the Indo-Pacific, a reinforced commitment to NATO and European security, and bold investments in science and technology. The Johnson government’s strategy has been much discussed, often in cynical terms. Given the prime minister’s prominent role in the bitter Brexit battle, many of his critics see the notion of a global Britain and the integrated review as little more than an extension of the Brexit fight and a fig leaf for its failures. More charitable assessments view it as clever but possibly unaffordable. Other observers, after reading the review and its companion document, the 74-page Defence in a Competitive Age, exclaim that these defense spending increases are not nearly enough to get the U.K. military both out of the red on its existing commitments and ready for the future of warfare.
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