Introduction

In the Cold War international order, Britain had enjoyed a pivotal role amongst Western powers, and was an essential partner to the United States in guaranteeing West European security. Its position as a leading European military and nuclear power, with a disproportionate share in NATO military commands, marked Britain out amongst other European states.2 Britain also differed from its European partners in its trade and investment patterns, its continued military and political commitments in the dependent territories and Commonwealth, and its entrenched position in the Security Council and other global institutions. Yet the erosion of international arrangements and national institutions largely predicated on the Cold War, coupled with Britain’s indigenous industrial decline and (in Western European terms) economic under-performance, suggested it was likely to have a diminished role in the post-Cold War order. The new global ‘order’ confronted Britain with the choice between settling for the status of a middle-rating European power commensurate with its economic performance, and attempting to retain its long-enjoyed world power status.3