In August 2026, History & Policy partnered in the organisation of a major conference with Wilton Park, an executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in Sussex. The conference, entitled ‘Bridging the Millennium’ marked the 80th anniversary of Wilton Park, which had been established at the end of the Second World War as a place where German prisoners of war could discuss the challenges of rebuilding their country along democratic lines with the help of some of the UK’s leading intellectuals. It subsequently became an important forum for debate about international affairs and conflict resolution. Professor Holger Nehring from the University of Sterling, who provided invaluable expertise on the history of Wilton Park has produced a Policy Paper for us in which he reflects on that history and its significance for contemporary foreign policy formulation.
The conference on 21 August, which received financial support from the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) and the Sir Heinz Koeppler Trust, began with a witness seminar on Wilton Park and the use of external academic expertise in the field of policy-making. This was followed by a panel exploring the early years of Wilton Park. One of the panellists from that session, Professor Andreas Brush, has provided the Wilton Park website with a set of reflections on the legacy of those first initiatives for post-war Anglo-German relations. Another panellist, Professor Gaynor Johnson, has produced an article for us, based on her remarks, setting the work of Wilton Park into the broader context of twentieth century British foreign policy. The third session considered British engagement with Europe. One of the panellists, Dr Larissa Kraft, who is currently the Robert Mcintosh Applied History & Policy Visiting Fellow at the IHR, offers her own reflections on the panel. The final session considered post-imperial international relations and was chaired by the director of History & Policy, Professor, Philip Murphy. One of the participants at the conference, Dr Roger Higginson, has produced this overall assessment of the day.
We are keen to preserve the momentum generated by the conference. To this end History & Policy is establishing a new H&P foreign policy and diplomacy forum, bringing together some of those involved in planning the Wilton Park conference. If you are interested in participating in this work please contact History & Policy’s Director.
Delegates at the Bridging the Millennium Conference (photo courtesy of Wilton Park)
