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This paper offers a theory of military retrenchment by states in relative decline. I argue that a declining state will choose to withdraw foreign military deployments and security commitments when there exists a suitable regional 'successor' to which it can devolve its current responsibilities. The degree of a successor's suitability and the strategic importance of the region to the declining state interact to determine when and how rapidly retrenchment will occur. Importantly, this devolutionary model of retrenchment predicts significant variations in retrenchment patterns across a declining state's multiple regional commitments. It advances the literature by producing nuanced predictions of precisely where, when, and how quickly retrenchment will occur. This paper assesses the theory empirically through an examination of Great Britain's varying regional retrenchment strategies prior to World War I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at an episode which though it happened in Tunisia had a direct link to the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62), and thus propelled the war to an international conflict that pitted the Western powers, namely; France, Britain and America against each other. By the time the incident occurred the Algerian War had been going on for just over three years with the French seemingly gaining the upper hand. This article endeavours to show how this incident complicated the Algerian conflict and how the episode was viewed internationally, especially from the British Government and media perspectives both had keen interest on the Algerian conflict as a result of their own empire in other parts of Africa. The article is based largely on archival research at the Public Record Office at Kew, (England) and Newspaper archives at Colindale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses British military aid to France's attempt to recolonize French Indochina from 1948 to 1950 as part of anti-communist efforts. Correspondence related to the British Foreign Office (FO) and the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) is addressed, along with activities of the government chiefs of staff (COS) and British Defence Coordination Committee Far East (BDCC). It is said that the British commissioner-general for Southeast Asia, Malcolm MacDonald, failed to offer sufficient aid to the French, who turned to the U.S. for support against anticipated Chinese attacks on Indochina.

Discusses the transformation of French policy of the Labour Party of Great Britain during the Phoney War. Labour leaders' advocacy of the establishment of a permanent Anglo-French alliance by 1940; Postwar organization of European security; Doubt about the usefulness of terms such as 'realistic' or 'idealistic.'