After 1945, Britain maintained a great chain of overseas military outposts stretching from the Suez Canal to Singapore. Commonly termed the `east of Suez' role, this chain had long been thought to be crucial for the country's security and its vitality. Nonetheless, British leaders eventually decided to abandon this network of bases. This study provides the most comprehensive explanation of this pivotal decision to date, while also offering insight into the processes of foreign policy change and the decline of great powers.

General Editor's Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: Perspectives on the Withdrawal from World Power Decline and the Politics of Retrenchment The Return to Normalcy: Postwar British Strategy Holding Courses: The Labour Government of 1945-51 and the Struggle over Strategy Reappraisal: The Suez Crisis and its Aftermath, 1957-60 Setting the Stage: Longer - Term Implications of Suez Relinquishing World Power: Britain's Financial Crises of 1966-7 Conclusions: Politics, History, and the East of Suez Decision Index

Jeffrey Pickering is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Kansas State University.