The many faces of Wilton Park

Abstract

This chapter explores the idea for and role of Wilton Park in the fabric of British foreign policy from its origins in the context of British post-war planning to the present day. It traces Wilton Park’s story from its early days as a prisoner of war (PoW) camp to an institution for the democratisation of post-National Socialist Germany to a networking and conference site for Western countries during the Cold War, and from there to an international policy forum part funded by the British government as an executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). In so doing, this chapter focuses on the ways in which Wilton Park managed to adapt to a changing domestic and international environment by redefining its purpose, while retaining some of the original ideas and methods that drove its foundation.