This book gives an account of the rivalry between Great Britain and Germany in the period leading to the First World War. It gives readers a thorough comparison of the two societies, their political cultures, economies, party politics, courts, the role of the press and pressure groups, and so on. It investigates the entire political structure within which diplomacy was conducted and seeks to establish the connection between long term background changes in the two countries and their rising antagonism. The work therefore contributes to the larger debate on the nature of foreign policy, as well as to that on the more specific controversies over Bismarck's imperialism, the Anglo-German naval race, trade rivalries, the role of the radical right, and the origins of the First World War. - Back cover.