Q&A · 56:45-57:34

Treaty limits as British strategy

The best treaty reference is recommended with a caveat: treaty rules could serve the Royal Navy's existing interests rather than simply constrain it.

Question

Is there a book on how the Royal Navy influenced naval treaties to obtain what it wanted?

Short answer

Warships after Washington is the leading recommendation, but read it alongside the argument that Britain helped write treaty terms to its own advantage.

Notes

John Jordan's Warships after Washington is recommended with a disagreement over its implication that the treaties were simply bad for Britain. British negotiators had helped shape terms that suited their strategic position. Naval treaties could therefore serve as active tools of policy as well as external limits.