The Empire 1860-1886 Of British

This is an important study that should be read by all interested in British imperial defense and grand strategy

Knitting together the empire was a class of men, a body of opinion, a 'defense community of military, naval and colonial officials drawn together by a common belief that the empire was in such a poor state of defense as to present a standing temptation to an enemy. They also limited confidence in the ability of a post-1867 democracy to conduct an effective defense, foreign or imperial policy. The roots of these beliefs lay in their common experience in the empire, in war, and in the several defense investigations and war scares that occurred between the Crimean War and the Balkan Crisis of 1878.