Reading about UK Foreign& Security policy after Brexit, I am missing a crucial factor we don‘t discuss enough: the effect of time. ATM the UK still benefits from relationships her officials/diplomats/soldiers have built in past decades. Will this kind of influence fade in future?

A senior FCO official in his 50s will be able to draw from his/her personal relationships in Europe (built over the last three decades) for the rest of his/her career. But what about the next generation of diplomats?

Since the referendum, the FCO has tried to mitigate this Brexit effect by intensifying bilateral ties with European countries. Wise but insufficient. The UK should invest in generous funding for the @BritishCouncil , the #BBC and, crucially, foreign language learning in the UK.

Also beware the inherent contradiction of trying to replace a multilateral network with long lists of bilateral ties:the more "special“/ "strategic“/ "extra-close“/ "historic" relationships you have, the less they are worth individually. A group is more than the sum of its parts.