Balfour and Foreign Policy: The International Thought of a Conservative Statesman

Description

This is a study of the foreign policy views of Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930), British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, which examines his understanding of foreign relations, his perception of contemporary foreign and Imperial affairs, and his prescriptions for British policy. The book spans international thought, diplomatic history, and biography. Theory is, however, not divorced from practice, still less practice from people. In elucidating Balfour's mind, the author touches on most of the major issues of four decades of international history and some fundamental questions of international relations. Little attention has been paid hitherto to Balfour's political thought, but here he is shown as an intellectual with a deep and coherent philosophy, which led him to emphasise the importance of Anglo-American partnership in world affairs.

"Jason Tomes's new study of the international thought of Arthur Balfour...offers a most stimulating survey of a leading Conservative's attitudes to the great issues of British foreign policy. The great merit of the book is its comprehensiveness." Douglas Newton, Journal of Modern History "The author, who is favourable to Balfour as a statesman and as a man, has clearly delineated both his attitudes to foreign policy and the beliefs which underlay that policy. It is a masterful survey." Contemporary Review