World Island

For centuries, British politics has been shot through by rival conceptions of the nation as an island: as a globe-spanning state projecting its power by command of the ocean, or a territorial 'sceptred isle' set in protective coastal seas at the edge of Europe. Ideas about Britain as a sea-going nation have shaped basic Britain's economic and political institutions.In this book, leading commentators Michael Kenny and Nick Pearce trace the historical lineages of competing visions of England as maritime nation, from their mythic roots in the Elizabethan age to debates in the contemporary era about the depletion of Britain's naval power and its foreign policy dilemmas in a world where the traditional alliances and institutions of world order are breaking down. They argue that in an age when the world's oceans have again become arenas of competition and the Anglo-American relationship is crumbling, Britain's ability to reconceive its status as 'world island' will determine its defence and security for decades to come.World Island will be essential reading for everyone interested in British politics and foreign and defence policy in an era of geopolitical rupture.