This book is about the impact of decolonisation on British civic society
in the 1960s. It shows how participants in middle class associational
life developed optimistic visions for a post-imperial global role.
Through the pursuit of international friendship, through educational
efforts to know and understand the world, and through the provision of
assistance to those in need, the British public imagined themselves as
important actors on a global stage. As this book shows, the imperial
past remained an important repository of skill, experience, and
expertise in the 1960s, one that was called upon by a wide range of
associations to justify their developing practices of international
engagement. This book will be useful to scholars of modern British
history, particularly those with interests in empire, internationalism,
and civil society. The book is also designed to be accessible to
undergraduates studying these areas.