Britain's global expeditionary reach contrasts with the relatively small size of its army beside European land forces. Geography reduces the need for a mass army at home and makes the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force central instruments for reaching several regions. During the bipolar Cold War, Europe was the decisive theater, but a multipolar world creates more geographically varied demands. Expanding the army by gutting naval and air power would therefore trade away flexibility for strength in only one type of crisis. British security also sits inside long-running alliance structures, from the imperial coalitions of the world wars to NATO, where national forces contribute different strengths.
Notable Point · 2:41:19-2:45:08
Britain's blue-water choices in a multipolar world
A strategic digression explains why Britain often favors naval and air reach over building a much larger continental army.