The New Mandarins: How British Foreign Policy Works - Hardcover

Dickie, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1860649785 ISBN 13: 9781860649783

Publisher: I.B.Tauris, 2004

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

John Dickie is Senior Lecturer in Italian, University College London, and is the author of Darkest Italy: The Nation and Stereotypes of the Mezzogiorno, 1860-1900.

Review:

"excellent, highly informative and readable book about how foreign policy is made today, who makes it and how they come to do so...If you want to know how the Foreign Office works, this book will answer all your questions. At a time when we are more than ever at the mercy of world events and foreign powers, Dickie has written an indispensable and cogent guide." -The Daily Mail "...a detailed and readable account of the British Foreign Office in modern form...John Dickie is perceptive over a wide range - notably on the crucial role of the private secretary, the advantages and hazards of the modern system of posting, and the role of the intelligence services in forming foreign policy." -Diplomat Magazine "ideally timed and overdue...those whom I have spoken to inside the FCO consider Dickie's book as very well informed and highly accurate" -Royal Institute for International Affairs Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: I.B.Tauris
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1860649785
• ISBN 13: 9781860649783
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256