Foreign policy realists have long found inspiration in the ideas of Lord Castlereagh, who served as British foreign secretary during and after the Napoleonic Wars.

With its commandments and parables, its kings and its prophets, the Hebrew Bible has served as a reference point for Western politics for centuries. Almost every kind of political movement, it seems, has drawn its own message from the text.

As a referendum on Scotland's independence looms, the question of the region's place in the United Kingdom has become the most pressing issue in British politics.

This module features teaching notes by Walter Russell Mead, author of God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World, along with other resources to supplement the text. In his book, Mr. Mead recounts how the British and their American heirs built an unrivaled global system of politics, power, investment, and trade over the past three hundred years.

A compilation of resources on the impact of the global financial crisis on Britain.

With financial firestorms erupting left and right in Europe, the global credit crisis takes a new dimension. Analysts say it might be time for coordinated interest rate cuts.

Rising commodity prices have boosted mining profits, bringing windfalls to some regions and raising the possibility of large-scale industry consolidation.

Britain’s latest brush with terrorism leads many to reexamine the country’s relationship with its own Muslim community. The United States, too, could benefit from such an analysis.

Car bombs in Scotland and London marked the advent of Gordon Brown's leadership in Britain and underscored the threat posed by those determined to strike at symbols of liberal democracy.

Tony Blair announced plans to step down as Britain’s Prime Minister, but unhappiness over his Iraq policies overshadow talk of his political legacy.

The release of fifteen British military personnel mitigates one source of tension with Tehran, but questions remain about the chances for nuclear compromise.

The standoff between Britain and Iran may affect other issues in the region, from nuclear negotiations to the security conference on Iraq.

The British have announced they will draw down their troops just as the United States begins its 'surge.' Their claims to have pacified Iraq's southern region are widely doubted.

There is widespread speculation about al-Qaeda's role in the foiled plan to down a group of U.S.-bound airliners. Yet given the increasingly decentralized nature of terrorist groups, many experts feel al-Qaeda's role is not likely to have been significant.

After British authorities arrest two dozen people allegedly plotting to down multiple airliners, Britain and the United States are reminded of the fragility of homeland and airline security.

President Bush and British leader Tony Blair met Thursday to discuss a full agenda, from Iran to Afghanistan to trade and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But all of it is overshadowed by their leading role in the Iraq war.

Walter Russell Mead discusses changes in Europe that may give Britain new opportunities to expand its influence.