Every country strives to develop and implement grand strategy—the marshalling of all available tools of national power towards a clear objective. Yet, every country struggles to do so given the panoply of challenges, pressures, and interests.
In the ‘Special Relationship’ with the United Kingdom, the United States has had outsized influence since the Second World War as Washington’s power, capabilities, and reach grew. How this affected London’s pursuit of its own grand strategy is the subject of Dr. William James’ new book ‘British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony’ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024).
James joins CSPC on 11 April to discuss his book and will argue that British politicians and officials have thought in grand strategic terms under American hegemony - even if they do not realise or admit to this. James also demonstrates that the role of allies in shaping British grand strategy has been overstated. Moreover, James highlights the conditions under which domestic political actors can influence grand strategic decision-making.
The book will be released in the US on 29 April 2024 and can be ordered here (use the code ASFLYQ6 for a 30% discount). The e-book will also be available for $9.99 from 29 April.
He will be in conversation with Joshua C. Huminski, CSPC’s Senior Vice President for National Security and Intelligence Programs.
Please RSVP via this link:
Dr. William James is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Grand Strategy at King’s College London. Prior to joining KCL, he was the Transatlantic Defence Research Fellow at the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre, where he remains a Senior Associate, responsible for their seminars in strategic studies. Dr James was previously based in the United States as a research fellow at MIT’s Security Studies Program and at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. He holds a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford.
Dr James’s work has been published in journals such as the European Journal of International Security and International Politics, as well as outlets such as War on the Rocks and Engelsberg Ideas. One of his aims is to produce academically rigorous research which is accessible and useful for policymakers. To that end, he has submitted written evidence to three parliamentary inquiries on British foreign policy. In 2020, he won RUSI’s Trench Gascoigne Prize for original writing on defence and security