ROBERT SELF was formerly Professor of British Politics and Contemporary History at London Metropolitan University, UK. He has authored or edited ten books including the first major biography of Neville Chamberlin to be based principally on an extensive range of archival sources.

'Robert Self has produced a very useful survey of British foreign and defence policy from the end of the Second World War until the present day; from the Attlee government and the post-war consensus to the Blair-Brown era of humanitarian intervention.' -Kate Utting, Defence Studies Department, King's College London, Diplomacy & Statescraft

• Introduction: Britain's Place in a Changing WorldBritish Power and the Burden of HistoryFrom Empire to CommonwealthBritain, the Atlantic Alliance and the 'Special Relationship'Britain and the EuropeThe Problems of Conventional DefenceBritain and the Bomb: The Quest to Nuclear DeterrentNew Labour, the 'Ethical' Dimension' and 'Liberal Intervention'Making Foreign and Defence PolicyConclusion: The Challenge of an Uncertain Future.