An account of the British Empire, this study examines its transition into the Commonwealth, its policies towards defence, the effect of the world depression, the moves towards trusteeship and indirect rule, its part in World War II and the prospects for the future.

Part 1 The attempt at consolidation 1921-1932: the Empire in 1921 - the British Empire - a Frenchman's and an insider's view, the Middle East and wider implications, Ireland and imperial implications, differences between the Dominions; Britain as a Middle Eastern power - Anglo-French imperial interdependence, Egypt, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Persia; Palestine - the British Labour Party and Zionism; Empire into Commonwealth - the Irish anomaly - the Empire and the Chanak affair; the economic argument - the Empire Marketing Board, India; imperial defence and arms control - the role of the United States - defence policy and arms control, the London Naval Conference of 1930, Singapore; the Indian ambiguity - the Round Table Conference of 1930. Part 2 The quickening pace 1932-1939: the Empire and the world depression - the depression and the Ottawa Conference and its aftermath; trusteeship, indirect rule and colonial development - India and Africa, "closer union" and the destiny of East and South Africa, indirect rule in practice in Ceylon and Malaya; the Empire and rearmament - Hankey's tour of the Empire 1934-5, the Imperial Conference of 1937 and its aftermath; clearing the decks - Ireland, India and the Middle East; the Empire and appeasement - the question of the German ex-colonies, the Dominons and Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and the Japanese threat, the Dominions and the challenge from Italy, the Dominions, the German threat and the Roosevelt initiative. Part 3 The accounting: the Empire goes to war - the problem of Irish neutrality, the Dominions, the guarantees and the Nazi-Soviet pact, Australia, Japan, Middle East, Anglo-French Union proposal, New Zealand and South Africa, Canada and America, India, colonial development and welfare and the 1940 Act; defeat and the shadow of dissolution - Irish neutrality and the war, securing Egyptian co-operation, Syria and Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, South Africa, Mackenzie King fights the Canadian corner, Australia - Menzies' ambitions and setbacks, Pearl Harbour, Singapore and eclipse; signposts to the future - Anglo-American relations, the Empire, Asia and Europe, Canada, India, the Middle East and Africa - contrasts in imperial decline.