Six turning points in postwar British foreign policy

Gill Bennett's book uses six cabinet-level decisions to examine how Britain managed changing power, alliances, and overseas commitments after 1945. Its cases begin with sending land forces to Korea and confronting Nasser during the Suez Crisis. The middle examples cover Britain's application to join the European Economic Community and the decision to withdraw from commitments east of Suez. Operation Foot then shifts the focus to Soviet espionage, while the Falklands case tests whether Britain would still employ distant military force. Taken together, the six moments trace foreign policy from imperial contraction and Cold War alignment to a late-century maritime intervention. This introduction establishes the chronological and political frame for the Operation Foot case that follows.