Britain was one of the main architects of the modern international system, involved in creating
the League of Nations and the United Nations. Moreover, Britons have occupied a high number
of positions in international organisations and have been active in international civil society
groups, shaping the principles and actions of international organisations. As a result of two world
wars, decolonisation and the Cold War, international society expanded, and the very fabric of the
twentieth-century international order was transformed. With those changes, new norms,
international actors and a multitude of interests appeared and collided. The demise of the British
Empire brought Britain face to face with these new actors and dynamics, as well as exposing the
tensions between its liberal ideals and imperial legacy and the challenge of finding a new role in
the world.
This interdisciplinary course examines Britain’s shifting role amid these broader international
developments. Through the lens of international organisations, diplomacy, empire and civil
society, it explores how British actors and institutions engaged with a changing international
order from the First World War to the 1970s. Students will consider competing visions of British
internationalism, confront the legacies of empire, and critically assess Britain’s place in global
governance. The course concludes with an introduction to historical research methods, including
archives, oral histories and memoirs, where students will begin to develop a grounded
understanding of the international historical and theoretical frameworks shaping Britain in the
World.
