ABSTRACT
In analysing the nature of the British security culture, attention in this chapter will focus on specific aspects of each of our four policies of governance where, it is argued, official priorities have most clearly become apparent. In discussing these, the principal focus will be on the period from 1997 and the policies and approaches pursued by successive Labour governments under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Before embarking upon these discussions, however, it is necessary to consider what may be called the UK’s ‘established’ or ‘traditional’ security culture. This will constitute the benchmark against which post-1997 developments will be measured in order to ascertain whether the UK is becoming a post-Westphalian state in terms of its security culture evolution.
