This work assesses British policy in those 100 years when Britain's international position diminished from the only global power to a regional European state. The chapters in the book look at how and why particular British foreign policies were constructed in four periods: before World War I, when British pre-eminence was unquestioned; in the interwar period, when British leaders looked to restructure and preserve the new international order imposed by the Paris Peace Conference; during World War II, when the British government looked to translate military success into diplomatic capital; and in the 1960s, when a weakened Britain made the final move to define its European role.