The New Mandarins. How British Foreign Policy Works

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Not since Anthony Eden's Suez War of 1956 has Britain's foreign policy provoked such intense controversy. But how are British foreign policy decisions taken? How does British diplomacy actually work? For generations the Foreign Office operated as an elitist, secretive institution resisting intrusion and change. Now this book reveals the revolution which transformed the Foreign Office. John Dickie describes for the first time how the new mandarins are tested, selected, trained and promoted in Britain's Diplomatic Service. His unrivalled knowledge has enabled him to illuminate the structures of foreign policy making in London, the relationships between career diplomats and the Foreign Secretary, and the workings of the backroom experts connected to shadowy, powerful figures in other capitals. Dickie discloses much that was not previously known, such as the operations of the Anglo-American Intelligence network; the distrust of Britain's European partners; the ""brain trust"" of academics who provide intellectual rationale for policies; the ways in which foreign policy is affected from the outside through M.P.s, think-tanks, campaigning non-government-organizations and the media.