As well as providing short analytical pieces to answer immediate operational needs, Research Analysts also prepare papers which take a wider view, both historical and forward-looking. Sometimes analysts take on additional tasks, such as acting as election monitors overseas. Alongside Records and Historical Department, Research Analysts provide the corporate memory of the FCO and act as the repository of knowledge on the evolution of British government policy towards countries, regions and international institutions. They make a major contribution to analytical work in Whitehall as a whole and regularly exchange views with counterpart organisations overseas. Research Analysts act as the principal interface between the FCO and the academic community.
Analysts usually know the principal academic experts in their specialist field.
As well as participating in and contributing to seminars and conferences at universities and think tanks, Research Analysts themselves organise over 80 such events every year in the FCO or jointly with universities. Some analysts contribute articles to learned journals and publish books on their areas of specialist expertise. The pieces published below are intended to be a contribution to public debate on developments in countries abroad or on current themes of foreign policy interest. Some factual items are offered as helpful background. Views expressed in these articles are those of the analysts concerned and should not be taken as statements of the policy of the British Government.