In 1945 Britain was still a world power, but increasingly had to adapt its international commitments to the financial limitations, technological progress and external challenges of the bipolar post-war world. This was particularly the case during the premierships of Eden, Macmillan and Douglas Home from 1955 to 1964. The twelve chapters in this book analyze Britain's foreign policy making during this period, and its regional relationships in the world, providing the reader with an overview of Britain's foreign relations during this crucial transition.

Britain and the Cold War, 1945-1964 offers new perspectives on ways in which Britain fought the Cold War, and illuminates key areas of the policy formulation process. It argues that in many ways Britain and the United States perceived and handled the threat posed by the Communist bloc in similar terms: nevertheless, Britain's continuing global commitments, post-war economic problems and somestic considerations obliged her on occasion to tackle the threat rather differently.