Recent debates about British political and military strategies, derived in particular from dissension about Britain's relationship with Europe and from disagreement over the Iraq war, has led to a greater awareness of the problematic nature of the concept of 'national interests'. The purpose of this book is to provide a historical perspective on this issue. The twin strands of the question will be captured by the consideration both of the Continental commitment and British interventionism in the 18th Century. The extent to which Britain's rise to superpower status in America and Asia was related to the Continental connection and to the Hanoverian interests of the dynasty is a central theme of the book, as is the relationship between the domestic position of the Crown and its interests as Electors of Hanover.

The issue of Continental interventionism opens up the question of how alliances generate their own pressures, at the same time that they are supposed to help overcome challenges; while also indicating how the domestic support for alliances shifts, creating its own dynamics that in turn affect the international dimension.