A weak economy in 2012 threatens Britain’s ability to respond to the ‘knowns’ and ‘unknowns’ of foreign policy and defence

At the close of 2011, British Politics and Policy at LSE asked our contributors for their thoughts and predictions for 2012. As part of this continuing series, Chris Brown looks at what 2012 may bring for the UK’s foreign policy – so called ‘known knowns’ such as our continuing involvement in Afghanistan, and the effects of our flat economy on defence policy, and ‘unknown knowns’ like Iran’s nuclear ambitions