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Full Description
This book explores the process by which defence policy is made in contemporary Britain and the institutions, actors and conflicting interests which interact in its inception and continuous reformulation.
Rather than dealing with the substance of defence policy, this study focuses upon the institutional actors involved in this process. This is a subject which has commanded far more interest from public, Parliament, government and the armed forces since the protracted, bloody and ultimately unsuccessful British military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. The work begins with a discussion of two contextual factors shaping policy. The first relates to the impact of Britain's 'special relationship' with the United States over defence and intelligence matters, while the second considers the impact of Britain's relatively disappointing economic performance upon the funding of British defence since 1945. It then goes on to explore the role and impact of all the key policy actors, from the Prime Minister, Cabinet and core executive, to the Ministry of Defence and its relations with the broader 'Whitehall village', and the Foreign Office and Treasury in particular. The work concludes by examining the increasing influence of external policy actors and forces, such as Parliament, the courts, political parties, pressure groups and public opinion.
This book will be of much interest to students of British defence policy, security studies, and contemporary military history.
Contents
1 Making Defence Policy in Contemporary Britain
2 The diplomatic and economic context for defence policy-making
3 The Ministry of Defence in transition
4 The Prime Minister and the 'central direction of defence'
5 Cabinet government and defence policy
6 The Defence Secretary and their department
7 Departmental politics within the Whitehall village
8 The Treasury and financial control in an age of austerity
9 Civil-military relations in Britain
10 The Armed Forces, judiciary and the fear of legal encirclement
11 The influence of Parliament over defence policy
12 Political parties, pressure groups and public opinion
13 Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendix: Ministers, Permanent Under-Secretaries and Chief of Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence since 1946
