The Makers of British Foreign Policy: From Pitt to Thatcher

The compelling essays brought together in this collection provide new assessments of the course of British foreign policy from the Glorious Revolution to the Treaty of Maastricht in 1991, its underlying principles as well as Britain's standing in international politics. The essays examine these issues through the prism of the personalities of those Foreign Secretaries and Prime Ministers who had a major impact on the course and conduct of British foreign policy, from the elder Pitt in the eighteenth century to Margaret Thatcher at the end of the twentieth. This collection of essays offers a powerful challenge to many traditional assumptions about Britain's decline as a great power, her imperial and continental commitments, and the contentious issue of 'Europe'.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors 'It's What Made Britain Great': Reflections on British Foreign Policy, from Malplaquet to Maastricht; T.G.Otte Pitt the Elder and the Foundation of an Imperial Foreign Policy; J.Black Castlereagh, 1812-1822; C.J.Bartlett Palmerston: Artful Dodger or 'Babe of Grace'?; J.Charmley Floating Downstream? Lord Salisbury and British Foreign Policy, 1878-1902; T.G.Otte Control the Whirlwind: Sir Edward Grey as Foreign Secretary, 1906-1916; K.Neilson Austen Chamberlain; R.S.Grayson Rat in Power: Neville Chamberlain and the Creation of British Foreign Policy, 1931-1939; G.Kennedy Ernest Bevin: Reluctant Cold Warrior; S.Greenwood Anthony Eden; D.Dutton A Rear Guard Action: Harold Macmillan and the Making of British Foreign Policy, 1957-1963; N.J.Ashton British Foreign Policy under Margaret Thatcher; P.Sharp Index

About the Author :
NIGEL J. ASHTON Lecturer in International History, London School of Economics C.J. BARTLETT Emeritus Professor of International History, University of Dundee JEREMY BLACK Professor of History, University of Exeter JOHN CHARMLEY Professor of Diplomatic History, University of East Anglia DAVID DUTTON Senior Lecturer, University of Liverpool RICHAD S. GRAYSON Director, Centre for Reform, Special Adviser to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats SEAN GREENWOOD Professor of History, Christchurch College, Canterbury GREG KENNEDY Lecturer in Defence Studies, Joint Services College/King's College London KEITH NEILSON Professor of International and Military History, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario PAUL SHARP Professor of International Relations, University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Review :
'The Makers of British Foreign Policy is a rich collection of essays of unusually high quality on Britain's chief foreign policy-makers, from the elder Pitt to Lady Thatcher...These studies can be read as case histories in the rise and decline of British power, revealing a far more irregular process of change than is so often assumed...This book is well worth reading. The essays are varied and always thought-provoking.' - Zara Steiner, Times Literary Supplement