Foreign policy has dominated successive governments' time in office and cast a consistently long shadow over British politics in the period since 1945. Robert Self provides a readable and incisive assessment of the key issues and events from the retreat from empire through the cold war period to Humanitarian Intervention and the debacle in Iraq.
Introduction: Britain's Place in a Changing World
British Power and the Burden of History
From Empire to Commonwealth
Britain, the Atlantic Alliance and the 'Special Relationship'
Britain and the Europe
The Problems of Conventional Defence
Britain and the Bomb: The Quest to Nuclear Deterrent
New Labour, the 'Ethical' Dimension' and 'Liberal Intervention'
Making Foreign and Defence Policy
Conclusion: The Challenge of an Uncertain Future.
