British Foreign and Defence Policy since the End of the Cold War : the State and Security Governance

Abstract

The aim of the article is to examine the definition of “security governance” and the way Britain responded to the emergence of new actors in the field of foreign and defence policy. After showing the difficulties met by classical state-centred theories to predict or explain changes in international relations, “security governance” is offered as one of the new International Relations theories which participated in redefining policy agendas after the end of the Cold War. This article shows that the state has to adapt to a new security paradigm but that the national interest remains paramount in foreign and defence policy.