British Foreign and Defence Policy Since 1945 Challenges and Dilemmas in a Changing World

by Self, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780230220805
• ISBN10: 0230220800
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-15
• Publisher: Red Globe Pr

Summary

The end of the Cold War, 9/11, conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the emergence of 'rogue' and 'failing' states, have all fundamentally served to transform the international arena and Britain's role and position within it. This volume sets out the choices, problems and dilemmas facing contemporary policy-makers against a background of British external policy responses to emerging challenges since 1945.

Author Biography

ROBERT SELF is Professor of Governance and International Relations at London Metropolitan University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Maps	p. ix
List of Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction: Britain's Place in a Changing World	p. 1
From 'superpower' to 'global hub'	p. 1
Trying (and failing) to adjust to harsh realities?	p. 5
'Traditionalist' versus 'transformationalist' perspectives	p. 7
British Power and the Burden of History	p. 13
The rise of British imperial power	p. 13
New threats and challenges: the British Empire and the 'resource gap' before 1914	p. 16
The First World War and its legacy	p. 20
Foreign and defence policy challenges of the 1930s	p. 22
The Second World War and the consequences of relative economic decline	p. 27
Continuity and consensus in post-war foreign and defence policy	p. 31
Ernest Bevin and the foundations of the post-war foreign policy consensus	p. 34
From Empire to Commonwealth	p. 40
The imperial legacy and the test of war	p. 40
The withdrawal from Empire, phase 1: India and Palestine	p. 42
Retrenchment and resistance, 1945-57	p. 47
The Suez crisis, 1956: the last blast of imperialism?	p. 50
Withdrawal from Empire, phase 2: Harold Macmillan and the 'Wind of Change'	p. 55
Forces driving the process of decolonization	p. 59
Constraints upon Britain's imperial retreat	p. 60
Britain and the transition to black majority rule in southern Africa	p. 62
Fighting for the Falklands	p. 64
Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations	p. 68
Britain and European decolonisation: a comparative perspective	p. 70
Britain, the Atlantic Alliance and the 'Special Relationship'	p. 74
Wartime cooperation and conflict	p. 74
Ernest Bevin and the policy of containment	p. 77
Fluctuating fortunes: Churchill, Eden and Macmillan, 1951-63	p. 83
The Atlantic alliance in decline, 1964-79	p. 86
'Special' once more? Thatcher, Major, Reagan and Bush, 1979-97	p. 87
New Labour, Clinton and George W. Bush	p. 94
Gordon Brown and 'our most important bilateral relationship'	p. 101
The nature of the 'Special Relationship'	p. 103
'Special Relationships': a sectoral perspective	p. 105
Anglo-American relations since 1945: a cost-benefit analysis	p. 107
Britain and Europe	p. 111
Paying the 'Price of Victory'	p. 111
Britain and the limits of cooperation, 1945-55	p. 117
'Missing the boat': Britain's first two applications, 1955-69	p. 120
Edward Heath's European crusade and Labour's referendum, 1970-79	p. 126
Margaret Thatcher and the EU budget, 1979-84	p. 129
The Single European Act (SEA), the Delors Report and monetary union, 1984-90	p. 132
John Major: a change of tone but not substance	p. 134
Tony Blair and the 'Europeanisation' of New Labour	p. 136
New Labour, the euro, the Constitutional Treaty and other problems	p. 142
Gordon Brown and selective Europeanism since 2007	p. 146
New Labour and the EU: continuity and change	p. 150
The Problems of Conventional Defence	p. 152
British military power: reacting to economic decline or adjusting to change?	p. 152
Disillusioned hopes of military power with reduced expenditure, 1945-57	p. 159
Duncan Sandys and the defence White Paper of 1957	p. 162
The Wilson governments and the retreat from 'East of Suez'	p. 165
The Thatcher governments and 'the Way Forward'	p. 168
'Options for Change' in a world turned upside down, 1989-97	p. 171
New Labour and hopes of delivering security in a changing world	p. 173
Too many commitments, too little money? Defence funding since 1997	p. 176
Blair, Brown and the crisis of military overstretch	p. 180
Expenditure priorities and the failures of defence procurement	p. 186
Conventional defence forces since 1945: Plus ca change	p. 188
Britain and the Bomb: The Quest for a Nuclear Deterrent	p. 192
Wartime collaboration and US betrayal	p. 194
The Attlee government and the independent nuclear deterrent	p. 197
Churchill and the hydrogen bomb	p. 200
Great power status - but at a price	p. 202
Trying (and failing) to keep up with the superpowers	p. 205
The Thatcher government and the purchase of Trident	p. 207
New Labour and the upgrading of Trident	p. 209
The US connection and the 'son of Star Wars'	p. 214
New Labour, the 'Ethical Dimension' and 'Liberal Intervention'	p. 216
Labour's commitment to an 'ethical dimension' in British foreign policy	p. 216
New Labour and human rights abroad	p. 220
New Labour, ethics and arms exports	p. 225
The arms trade, bribery and the control of international corruption	p. 231
International development and developing world debt relief	p. 234
Climate change and the environmental agenda	p. 241
The 'Blair doctrine', liberal intervention and the Kosovo campaign	p. 242
Afghanistan, the Taliban and the 'war on terror'	p. 245
Saddam Hussein, Operation Desert Fox and the Iraq War	p. 248
Gordon Brown and the' 'Responsibility to Protect'	p. 250
The 'ethical dimension' in retrospect	p. 252
Making Foreign and Defence Policy in a Changing World	p. 255
The complexity of the foreign policy process in Britain	p. 255
Executive dominance in the formulation of foreign policy	p. 259
Who makes British defence policy?	p. 264
Outside the magic circle: who is excluded from the policy process?	p. 268
Executive 'overload' and the problem of priorities	p. 270
The problems of long-term planning and 'horizon-scanning'	p. 272
Redefining the role of the FCO within a challenging Whitehall environment	p. 274
Reviewing Britain's overseas representation	p. 279
A much too Diplomatic Service? Defending the national interest	p. 282
Reforming the composition and career structure: the Foresight initiative	p. 283
The role of the intelligence services	p. 284
Conclusion: the Challenge of an Uncertain Future	p. 288
The changing international environment after 1945	p. 288
Continuity and change in British policy	p. 289
The challenge of the unknown: redefining the threat	p. 291
Devising a strategy for an uncertain world	p. 295
Britain's position in the world - the more that changes the more that stays the same	p. 299
Useful Websites for Foreign and Defence Sources	p. 302
Bibliography	p. 303
Index	p. 327
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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