本論文探討英國印太政策在2010至2024年保守黨歷屆政府執政期間如何轉變及其原因，並評估此一轉變是否可僅由體系誘因加以解釋，或是否亦須將國內政治壓力與菁英認知納入考量。體系誘因對英國加強參與印太地區形成大致持續、但逐漸增強的壓力。然而，僅憑這些誘因無法充分解釋政策的時機、形式、強度與論述框架，而上述各面向在卡麥隆（David Cameron）、梅伊（Theresa May）、強森（Boris Johnson）與蘇納克（Rishi Sunak）四位首相任內皆呈現明顯差異。本論文以新古典現實主義作為理論框架，將體系誘因視為自變項，並將國內政治壓力與菁英認知視為中介變項，認為體系誘因會透過這些中介變項加以過濾。研究方法上，本論文採用過程追蹤法，並對四段首相任期進行結構化聚焦比較，資料來源包括政府戰略文件、閣員演說、國會報告與民意調查。研究結果顯示，大致寬鬆且多數情況下不明確的戰略環境，給予國內因素相當大的空間來形塑政策。卡麥隆時期的參與主要以商業為主；梅伊時期，印太地區透過「Global Britain」（全球英國）論述獲得更高的政策重要性；到了強森時期，這一發展進一步形成正式的「Indo-Pacific Tilt」（印太傾斜）；而在蘇納克時期，隨著烏克蘭戰爭使整體戰略環境變得更具限制性，政策則轉向鞏固既有成果。整體而言，本論文認為，體系誘因可以解釋英國政策的大方向，但無法充分說明其時機、形式與強度。國內政治壓力形塑了印太地區在英國外交政策中的重要性，而菁英認知則形塑了英國參與印太地區的性質。

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This thesis examines how and why the United Kingdom's Indo-Pacific policy changed across the Conservative governments of 2010–2024, and assesses whether this change can be explained by systemic incentives alone, or whether domestic political pressures and elite perceptions must also be taken into account. Systemic incentives created a broadly constant but gradually intensifying pressure for the UK to engage more closely with the Indo-Pacific. However, these incentives alone cannot fully explain the timing, form, intensity or framing of policy, all of which varied significantly across the premierships of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. Using a neoclassical realist framework, this thesis treats systemic incentives as the independent variable and domestic political pressures and elite perceptions as intervening variables through which these incentives are filtered. Methodologically, it uses process tracing and structured, focused comparison across the four premierships, drawing on government strategy documents, ministerial speeches, parliamentary reports and public opinion polling. The findings show that the broadly permissive and predominantly unclear strategic environment gave domestic factors considerable room to shape policy. Under Cameron, engagement was mainly commercial; under May, the Indo-Pacific gained greater prominence through the "Global Britain" narrative; under Johnson, this developed into the formal "Indo-Pacific Tilt"; and under Sunak, policy shifted towards consolidation as the war in Ukraine made the wider strategic environment more restrictive. Overall, the thesis finds that systemic incentives explain the broad direction of UK policy, but not its timing, form or intensity. Domestic political pressures shaped the prominence of the Indo-Pacific in UK foreign policy, while elite perceptions shaped the character of that engagement.

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