Based on excerpts from original sources, this book provides an introduction to the controversies and dilemmas that have confronted those making and implementing British defence policy since the end of World War II. Ovendale explores the policy dilemmas caused by Britain's parallel commitments to continental Europe and to a global foreign policy, the legacy of her imperial past. He also examines the decision in 1957 to rely on the nuclear deterrent, abolish conscription and move away from a maritime strategy; and the role of the Treasury in dictating the limits of British defence policy.