In the 15th March 2022 Tynwald sitting, speaker Juan Watterson asked the Chief Minister “What his External Relations Strategy is?”
The written answer supplied makes for interesting reading, giving an insight into the heart of the Manx Government External Relations (ER) activity:
“In terms of our external relations, the Isle of Man can only use what is sometimes described as soft power. Focussing on building relationships with our near neighbours in the UK, both at official and political level, as well as with the Devolved Administrations. The Isle of Man has good relations with our counterparts in the Channel Islands, whose interests often align with our own.”
The specific activities undertaken as part of the Island’s ‘soft power’ strategy can be summarised as follows:
Providing information on the Island’s priorities to officials in positions of influence in order to inform decision-making that benefits the Island - “or at least not to our detriment”
“Transactional” discussions such as correcting addressing misunderstandings or misinformation
Interacting with “external technical bodies” such as the “OECD’s global tax forum to the Red Ensign Group”
Identify and build new economic opportunities for the Island - from “establishing individual business links, or seeking the Isle of Man’s inclusion in international trade agreements being negotiated by the UK”
There are clearly a lot of benefits gained by the Island’s current External Relations activity. It could be argued, however, that these tasks are largely functional.
Reayrtys would suggest that there is presently much greater scope for broadening the Government’s range of activity conducted under the remit of ‘soft power’, as well as providing a deeper strategic foundation to its international relations strategy.
Boosting the Island’s international relations strategy
As a starting point Reayrtys is suggesting consideration and further review of the the following opportunity areas:
1/ Benchmarking the Island’s soft power status
Both Scotland and Wales have undertaken work to create a soft power ‘barometer’ for their respective countries. This type of research not only provides a much-needed indicator of the relative strengths and weaknesses of a country, but also - and crucially - establishes a country’s ‘competitive set’, that is the cities, regions or countries which are strategically similar and thus offer the strongest opportunities for successful outcomes of soft power activity.
2/ Dedicated public diplomacy programme
The Isle of Man should launch dedicated public diplomacy programmes targeting the priority cities, regions and countries identified as part of the benchmarking activity. Campaigns should aim to improve international perceptions of the Island - particularly in relation to being a responsible and progressive country, facilitate cultural exchange, support cross-border education and learning opportunities, promote the Island as a powerful and relevant destination for trade and tourism
3/ Priority regions and international networks engagement programme
Establish and deepen political, cultural and economic relationships between the Island and significant regions already identified. In addition to priority regions as well as international networks such as the EU, UN, WTO, etc.
Prioritisation of regions and international networks should be based on clear and meaningful criteria, could include geographical proximity, shared culture and history, economic similarity/synergy, etc or influence on the stable and safe functioning of the Island.
The Welsh Government has established such a strategy identifying four key regions based on “shared values, interests and policy ambitions” in order to “raise Wales’ profile on the international stage, grow its economy by increasing exports and attracting inward investment and establish Wales as a globally responsible nation.”
Central to this engagement is the opening of Manx Government representative offices in key locations which would allow a dedicated focus on achieving some of the following outcomes:
Benefit from shared experiences with like-minded regions in order to benchmark performance and improve policy making and implementation;
Open up opportunities to participate in collaborative projects;
Develop and push forward partnerships in support of shared agendas;
Maintain connections with key international networks, for example the European Union and its related institutions;
Support the Island’s economy by facilitating import and export trade and creating opportunities for inward investment from like-minded regions
The specific locations, networks and objectives would need to be guided by the Island’s own national strategy.
3/ Diaspora Engagement strategy
Another central component of cultural or public diplomacy is leveraging the range of national expats and diaspora around the world.
There is a significant Manx diaspora throughout British Isles and, crucially further afield in countries with historically high influxes of Manx emigrés, such as North America, Australia and Canada.
A further, not insignificant, Manx diaspora is the ‘affinity diaspora’ - people who have lived in, or regularly visited the Isle of Man, and are now advocates for the country.
The Government should develop a dedicated programme for identifying and leveraging these diaspora to support the delivery of objectives is vital. Again, specific aims should be aligned with the Government’s wider National Strategy, but could include supporting issues vital to future prosperity of the Island, such as addressing population decline, skills shortages, export/trade opportunities, etc.
This is an effective strategy already being explored and adopted by the UK’s devolved administration, such as the Scottish government, as well as other countries, including Australia, Canada and Flanders.
4/ External Relations Minister ERT Minister
Having a public-facing role within the Manx Government would help cement the significance of the Island’s commitment to international relations. Although as a small country, ring-fencing a Minister is a tried and tested formula, for example being deployed in the Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Scotland and Wales. The role would be a central and singular figurehead for the Island’s wider international relations activities and reinforce the perception of the Island on the global stage.
5/ Deepening Strategic Foundations
Central to many of the suggested above activities is an alignment with a set of broader national Manx strategic priorities – or better still Vision. Presently, there is (as far as we can tell) some evidence of planned initiatives, for example cultural exchange, such as the Kaneen Bursary co-ordinated by Culture Vannin; trade events and conferences, such as the Department of Enterprise delegation to ICE London, the international online gambling trade show; food and drink expos; etc.
However, a key consideration must be whether all this activity is strategically aligned or ‘joined up’ to maximise overall potential. Most fundamentally of all, however, is to ensure long-term strategic effectiveness and to build greater value for the Manx public the core components of this ‘soft power’ work should be in-housed. This will increase control and influence over soft power outcomes, boost skills and capacity within the Government and deepen organisational expertise and effectiveness.
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