British-American Project
The British-American Project (BAP) is an organisation intended to strengthen links between the United Kingdom and the United States.[1] BAP operates on a not-for-profit basis, funded through its membership and support from corporate partners. It was originally named the British-American Project for the Successor Generation.[1][2]
Goals
Established in 1985, BAP was created to help maintain and enrich the long-standing relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. The Project was the brainchild of Nick Butler, an economist at BP, who at that time was also a prospective Labour Party parliamentary candidate.[1] Along with others in both countries who viewed the special relationship favorably, he had become concerned about a growing tide of anti-American sentiment among his generation in the UK. Butler's response was to propose a series of conferences, developing relationships between the participants and broadening understanding.[1]
A US BAP organiser describes the BAP network as committed to "grooming leaders" while promoting "the leading global role that [the US and Britain] continue to play".[3]
Organisation
The British-American Project is affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). BAP is a non-profit, funded by its members and donations from corporate partners.[4][dubious – discuss]
Nick Cohen, writing in The Observer in 1999, criticised the scheme on the grounds that it encouraged the adoption in Europe of policy from the United States.[4][dubious – discuss][better source needed]
Andy Beckett, writing in The Guardian in 2004, said of the organisation "You won't have heard of the British-American Project, but its members include some of the most powerful men and women in the UK".[1] He writes that in the work of the organisation "a process of political education can be discerned of which J Howard Pew would have approved", and that "American notions such as less regulated capitalism, a smaller 'enabling state' and a world kept safe by the Pentagon came to be regarded as sensible, inevitable".[1] He notes that people with military experience are important in BAP.[1]
Notable current and former members
Fellows
Politicians
Douglas Alexander, former Labour MP[3]- Rushanara Ali, Labour MP[5]
- Stephen Dorrell, former Conservative MP and Liberal Democrat[1]
- Steve Hilton, political commentator and former political adviser[1]
- David Miliband, former Labour MP[3]
- Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, former Labour MP, life peer[3]
- Mo Mowlam, former Labour MP[1]
- Geoff Mulgan, academic and former Director of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit[3]
- Jonathan Powell (Tony Blair's chief of staff)[3]
- George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, former Labour MP[3]
- Patricia Scotland, diplomat, barrister and Labour life peer[1][3]
- Alan Sked, founder of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)[1][6]
- Elizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, trade unionist and Labour life peer[1][3]
- Matthew Taylor (political strategist), former head of the Number 10 Policy Unit, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation[1][3]
- David Willetts, former Conservative MP, life peer[1]
- Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Scottish National Party MSP
- Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour Party Leader
Diana Villiers Negroponte, trade lawyer and academic[3]
Journalists
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent, The London Evening Standard[1][3][5]
- George Brock, The Times[7]
- Diane Coyle, The Independent[7]
- Evan Davis, BBC[3]
- Daniel Drezner, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Slate, Tech Central Station, among others[8]
- Daniel Franklin, The Economist[7]
- Jane Hill, BBC[9]
- Isabel Hilton, The Independent, The Guardian, BBC[7]
- Frederick Kempe, The Wall Street Journal[7]
- Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator[1]
- James Naughtie, BBC[3]
- Jeremy Paxman, BBC[3]
- Rowan Pelling, The Daily Telegraph[10]
- Trevor Phillips, BBC[7][dubious – discuss]
- Caroline St John-Brooks, The Times Educational Supplement, The Sunday Times[7]
- Joel Stein, LA Times[11]
Arts and media
- Margaret Hill, BBC current affairs producer[7]
- Benjamin Zephaniah, poet[1]
Other
- Janet Bloomfield, peace and disarmament campaigner[12]
- Shami Chakrabarti, Former director, Liberty[13][dubious – discuss]
- Caroline, Lady Dalmeny, former defence policy analyst[14]
- Julia Hobsbawm, writer and public speaker[1]
- Hardeep Singh Kohli British presenter and comedian[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Beckett, Andy (6 November 2004). "Friends in high places". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "History of the Project". British-American Project. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Pilger, John (13 December 2007). "Tainted hands across the water". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
- ^ a b Nick Cohen - Without Prejudice: "Cry freedom... and order a Big Mac - BAP conference", The Observer, 31 October 1999, hosted at Bilderberg website, accessed 17 June 2013.
- ^ a b Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (17 March 2008). "This unhealthy strain of left-wing McCarthyism". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ "British American Project - SourceWatch". www.sourcewatch.org.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Transatlantic Elite - BAP - British American Project for the successor generation - Peter Mandelson". www.bilderberg.org.
- ^ Daniel Drezner (November 12, 2003). "I'm off to join another secret cabal".
- ^ "Welcome to the British-American Project". archive.is. 16 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.
- ^ Rowan Pelling (13 Nov 2007). "Subversive politics and honey traps never pall". The Telegraph.
- ^ Joel Stein (November 30, 2007). "Changing the world a drink at a time". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Elworthy, Scilla (30 April 2007). "Obituary: Janet Bloomfield". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "The Governors". Ditchley Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2006.
- ^ Royal United Services Institute Fellows and Associates Archived March 15, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rayner, Gordon (2023-09-01). "British-American Project at war after Hardeep Singh Kohli appointment". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
External links
- British-American Project (official website)
- Transatlantic Elite - British American Project for the successor generation collection of articles from various publications[dubious – discuss]