Britain courts unstable powers as hedges

Western states will increasingly cultivate closer ties with resource- and population-rich countries previously labeled 'unstable' because domestic and allied instability reduces the political cost of such partnerships. State visits, trade deals and strategic partnerships (finance, tech, security) will be reframed as hedges against home-front fragility rather than endorsements of good governance. — This reframing changes how democracies choose partners — prioritizing strategic resilience over traditional stability metrics — and will reshape trade, investment and soft-power calculations.