In the National Interest?

In a climate of global instability and domestic uncertainty, the question of what constitutes Britain’s ‘national interest’ has never been more urgent. Acclaimed historian Jeremy Black’s In the National Interest? British Foreign Policy, Past, Present and Future provides a sweeping analytical narrative of the forces that have sculpted Britain’s engagement with the world—from the Middle Ages to the age of AI. Moving beyond the cloistered calm of traditional diplomatic history, Black argues that foreign policy is not an abstract, rational science conducted in whispers by elites, but a vibrant, often messy political construct. It is a field shaped by clashing ideologies, economic pressures, public opinion and the unpredictable impact of human agency. Spanning nearly four centuries, this volume examines the critical turning points of British history: the imperial struggles of the eighteenth century, the trauma of two world wars and the contemporary dilemmas posed by a transformed...

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