SOMEONE ELSE'S EMPIRE dispels the myth of a 'Global Britain' that punches above its weight in the world. The reality, argues Tom Stevenson, is that Britain lacks even the barest outline of an independent foreign policy. The impetus for so many policy decisions, from Iraq to AUKUS, comes from a supine desire to maintain lieutenant rank in the Washington hierarchy, whatever the consequences.

Nostalgia for global influence has produced a compulsive Atlanticism and a reflexive resort to military actions that the UK is near incapable of actually performing. The net effect of Brexit has been an increase in vassalage. Yet for what must ultimately be psychological reasons, British leaders and national security clerks have tended to dislike seeing Britain framed by American power. Someone Else's Empire looks at the infrastructure of a US world order re-energised by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and fits the UK into the picture without the usual euphemisms. It is one thing to station military forces around the world to maintain your empire, but quite another to do so for someone else's.

A fascinating read about Britain's dreams of empire and embarrassing deference to Washington -- Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory
This lacerating book lays bare everything from the sanguinary politics of the British defence establishment to the management of venal political proxies in the Middle East. -- Laleh Khalili, author of Sinews of War and Trade
Stevenson writes vividly of the United States' relentless pursuit of international predominance and Britain's role as its loyal adjutant. An insight-laden exploration. -- Rajan Menon, author of The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention
Welcome ... evocative ... Reproduces a style of reportage, highly literary yet historically informed, that harkens back to a bygone era of journalism -- John-Baptiste Oduor * Jacobin *
One of the London Review of Books' great essayists ... compelling. -- Richard G. Whitman * International Affairs *

Tom Stevenson is a contributing editor at the London Review of Books where he writes about energy, defence and international politics. He has reported from Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa for the LRB, Times Literary Supplement, Financial Times and the BBC.