The argument between the noisy popular liberal interventionist approach and the more conservative diplomatic approach concentrating on cooperation between other nations has run for two centuries, and is at the heart of heated discussion on both sides of the Atlantic today. Hurd concentrates on personalities and circumstances. He begins with the dramatic antagonism after Waterloo between Canning and Castlereagh—the last occasion on which ministerial colleagues fought a duel. A generation later comes Palmerston vs Aberdeen, from which Palmerston, the noisy interventionist, emerged the victor. Salisbury and then Edward Grey wrestled with the same dilemma in the context of imperialism and the European balance of power. Finally Eden and Bevin, from wholly different backgrounds, combined with the Americans to create a post–war compromise, which served its purpose for half a century, but is coming apart today as the old questions resurface in new and savage forms in an era of terrorism and racial conflict.
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"Douglas Hurd has done the impossible...he has produced a pageturning book about the history of British foreign policy" —Independent
"Hurd elegantly profiles eleven British foreign secretaries... Written with a lightness of touch despite its serious message, one only hopes David Miliband buys a copy" — GQ
"One of the great achievements of this thoughtful and elegant book is to emphasise the thread of continuity running through British foreign policy from the age of Napoleon to the cold war... a book of great authority and insight" —Sunday Times
About the Author
Douglas Hurd served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Home Secretary, and Foreign Secretary. He is the coauthor of many thrillers, including Memoirs and the highly acclaimed Robert Peel.
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