Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the challenges confronting the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). It examines the development of the FCO and its adaptation to changes in the external environment. The book focuses on the universal problem facing diplomats to balance the traditional qualities of the department with the need to provide increasingly detailed and technical information for the government and business interests. It also examines the impact of interdependence on Britain's network of overseas posts and the UKREP and UKMIS misions. The book looks at the institutional changes in Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Employment Department Group as evidence of the growing international role of the domestic bureaucracy. It discusses the issue of foreign policy coordination and the challenge facing the FCO from the Cabinet Office, particularly over European Union (EU) issues and during interdepartmental disputes.