Britain, Australia and Toynbee’s cliff: intelligence on a ledge

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper likens the scenario posed by Brexit for British-Australian intelligence relations to Arnold Toynbee’s climbers on a cliff-face. Advancing societies climb steadily towards the top, while others plunge to their demise or get trapped on a ledge, unable to ascend any further. At the top of the cliff is a higher state of civilisation with hitherto unimagined levels of security and wellbeing for all citizens. At the bottom are chaos, barbarism and suffering. It is argued that a fall from the cliff-face is not inevitable, but that Britain must take measures to ensure its progression, namely maintaining productive EU intelligence relationships for the benefit of its distant partners and continuing to develop innovative intelligence collection technologies, rather than falling into stagnation or decline.