Part 1 Consolidation and adjustments, 1815-38: Castlereagh and the quest for stability; post-war defence policies; crisis management, 1823-30; Palmerston, foreign policy and defence, 1830-38. Part 2 No permanent friends or enemies, 1839-56: Afghanistan and the near East, 1839-44; France and the invasion panics, 1844-52; The Crimean War. Part 3 More diplomacy, less defence, 1856-75: crises with the United States; new defence problems, 1856-65; Palmerston and the limits of British power; experiments in compromise. Part 4 From the Mediterranean to the Far East, 1875-1901: The Near Eastern Question, 1875-78; Egypt and Afghanistan; the search for security against Russia and France, 1885-98; defence and diplomacy at the turn of the century. Part 5 New threats, new policies, 1901-14: the first reappraisals, 1901-14; enter Germany; military reform and war in Europe; the naval race and Anglo-German relations, 1908-14; to 1914 - change and continuity.
