The Building Stability Overseas Strategy (BSOS) is the UK Government’s strategic plan to address instability and conflict overseas by building strong and legitimate institutions needed to help manage tensions peacefully in societies. It seeks to address the lessons learned from the Arab Spring and marks the first time that the UK Government has put in place an integrated cross-government strategy to address conflict issues.
The BSOS focuses on how the UK Government can improve the effectiveness of its efforts by strengthening the whole of government approach and refining prioritisation at a time when resources are being squeezed. This strategy emphasises the importance of early warning, rapid response and upstream conflict prevention.
Part one of the strategy sets out why stability matters to the UK and then draws on lessons the UK has learned and a growing body of international evidence of what works. This is based on consultations with leading international thinkers and practitioners, bringing together perspectives from academia, the military, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), multilateral institutions, Parliamentarians and UK Embassies and networks of staff overseas.
Part two sets out the UK Government’s approach to prioritisation and the action they will take on those fragile and conflict-affected countries where the risks are high, their interests are most at stake and where they know they can have an impact.
The document draws on analysis and data sets produced by international organisations including the UN, the World Bank, the International Energy Agency and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and by NGOs including the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the International Action Network on Small Arms, International Alert, the Overseas Development Institute, Oxfam and Saferworld.
