The Conservative Government and the End of Empire, 1951-1957, Pt. 2 - Politics and Administration (Paperback)

This is the second part in the three-section volume, "The Conservative Government and the End of Empire". The documents in this volume reveal how the Conservative governments of Churchill and Eden were determined to maintain Britain's world role but were unable to resolve how to do so at affordable cost. Successive reviews of Britain's external commitments led in June 1956 to a major discussion paper by officials on "The future of the United Kingdom in world affairs", a key document of the period which is reproduced here. Almost all parts of the empire are represented in this collection, with additional coverage of such issues as Commonwealth evolution, anti-colonialism in the United Nations, management of the sterling area, colonial development, economic association with Europe, and race relations and immigration. The volume should be a useful source of reference for an understanding of Britain's role as an imperial power in the critical period prior to the wind of change.