War in Europe, an increasingly assertive China, and instability across the Middle East are combining to create a threat landscape that Britain cannot afford to approach with a purely reactive posture. As Pope Leo has reflected, moments of profound change require us to look ahead with clarity, reason and an unwavering concern for human dignity. That perspective applies not only to technological change, but also to an increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape.

As Andy Burnham prepares to become the first openly Catholic Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, we are reminded that governments have a clear duty to protect not only their own citizens, but to think seriously about our obligations to others around the world.

Supporting Ukraine, strengthening our defences and responding to geopolitical challenges are essential responsibilities. But security cannot be understood only through the lens of military power. A safer world also depends on stable institutions, economic opportunity and the resilience to withstand crises before they become conflicts.

Catholic social teaching has long resisted the temptation to separate moral responsibility from political judgement. From Rerum Novarum to Pope Leo’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, we are offered a vision centred on human dignity, solidarity and the common good. These are not abstract ideals but principles for public life, guiding political judgement when governments face difficult choices. At the core is a simple question: who is left vulnerable by the decisions we make?

That question is particularly relevant as government spending on international development comes under increasing pressure. As public finances tighten and defence spending rises, overseas aid is often portrayed as a competing priority. Yet this overlooks the fundamental purpose of development assistance.

Pope Leo argues that societies should not only respond compassionately to migration but also address the conditions that force people to leave their homes in the first place. His emphasis on the “right to remain” points directly to the importance of development, helping communities build the stability, opportunity and resilience needed for people to flourish where they are. Supporting stronger institutions, healthcare, education and economic opportunity is not simply an act of generosity. It is an investment in security. Addressing fragility before it escalates helps reduce the conditions in which conflict, displacement and humanitarian crises take root.

The conflict in Sudan illustrates the consequences when those foundations collapse. Around 11.4 million people have been displaced, and at least 59,000 deaths have been reported. Millions more need humanitarian assistance. It is a reminder that conflict rarely erupts overnight; it grows where fragility is ignored, and communities are left without the means to withstand pressure.

Jordan offers a different lesson. Hosting millions of refugees from neighbouring conflicts has placed enormous pressure on public services and local communities. Having witnessed the impact of this response first-hand, it is clear how targeted development investment can help countries manage extraordinary pressures, supporting both displaced people and host communities while preventing humanitarian crises from becoming wider sources of instability.

The pressure to reduce public spending will mean difficult choices in the years ahead, but as Sir Tony Blair, another former Labour prime minister and later convert to Catholicism, once put it, “The fact we can’t solve everything doesn’t mean we try to solve nothing.”

Britain’s place in the world has never rested solely on military power. It has also depended upon whether others regard us as a reliable partner and a country willing to shoulder responsibility for shared global challenges. That reputation has long been one of Britain’s greatest strategic assets.

For Burnham, this argument connects with the political tradition that has shaped his career in Manchester. His emphasis on communities left behind, the dignity of work and the responsibilities owed to the vulnerable reflects concerns long central to Catholic social teaching. Both recognise that the strength of a society is revealed by how it responds to those most at risk.

Whether Britain’s next Prime Minister is Catholic is ultimately less important than whether our politics can recover this broader sense of responsibility. Catholic social teaching rejects the false choice between defending national interests and advancing the common good. It recognises that security and solidarity reinforce one another, and that a nation’s strength is measured not only by what it can defend, but by what it is willing to build.

Ryan Henson is Chief Executive of the Coalition for Global Prosperity. He previously worked at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD). Ryan writes on faith, global development, and international affairs.