Defence Policy: 1980

Abstract

British defence policy offers a poignant expression of many of the dilemmas that face the Western Alliance in general. Basic to the dilemma is the mismatch of resources and aspirations. This has led over the past three decades to the steady contraction of the British defence effort. This has included the steady withdrawal from bases outside the NATO area (leaving only token forces to guard the residue of Empire). This acceptance of a regional bias in defence policy has been as important as, and complementary to, the acceptance of a regional bias in foreign policy, marked by the accession to the Treaty of Rome in 1972. However, the persistent weakness of the British economy is now starting to put pressure on the disposition of British forces within Europe.

This chapter first appeared as ‘Britain’s Defense Policy’, in Edwin H. Fedder (ed.), Defense Politics of the Atlantic Atlantic (New York: Praeger, 1980) pp. 49–66.