He and Labour's Peter Mandelson have now come together to form the Centre for British Influence.
But if so, that was the high point of British influence on that conflict.
Such was British influence in 19th Century Germany that all kinds of sports were imported, ranging from tennis to cricket (14 teams in Berlin alone by 1914).
The Fresh Start group of Tory MPs has published a long list of powers they want repatriated back to the UK. A new pro-European grouping called the Centre of British Influence Through Europe has been established.
The Tories protest that this will weaken British influence in Brussels as conflicting British and Scottish views could emerge, especially if, say, Labour is running the Scottish government and the Tories are in charge at Westminster.
ECONOMIST: Devolution: The choice for Scotland and Wales | The
The fourth kind of empire, suggests Mr Darwin, was a more informal one in places such as Argentina and Egypt where British influence was exercised through commerce, investment and shrewd diplomacy (occasionally of the gunboat kind).
For years, Mr Blair saw joining the euro as a way to increase British influence in Europe and was infuriated by Gordon Brown's insistence that to do so would put at risk Britain's enviable economic stability and the government's ambitious spending plans.
Answering an urgent question by Labour's Denis Macshane on 26 January 2011, Mr Hague told MPs that the World Service "performs a valuable role, reflecting British democratic values overseas and supporting British influence in the world" and provided "a beacon to many in the poorest and most insecure countries in the world".
But does this mean that America's next air war will be constrained by British political influence, as the war against Serbia was restrained by France?
In the 19th century the battle over influence of Central Asia was described as the "Great Game" as the British and Russian empires vied for control and influence in the region.
Schools of Islam that emerged in India as a reaction to the British raj are now vying for influence in the north of England.
That balance has shifted during recent decades, and the influence of Christian teaching on British culture and law has steadily waned.
So as and when British Gas does announce the new higher prices, it will be a blow to millions of households struggling to pay bills and will have a significant influence on prospects for the British economy.
Some British-based Bangladeshis are dismayed by the influence the Islamists enjoy in the diaspora.
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The belief that British judges have never allowed their biases to influence their rulings has always been a fantasy.
That puts the British prime minister in a position of enormous influence.
British folk icon Nick Drake is clearly an influence on Gonzalez.
Unlike the British, the Danes do not fear losing influence (what influence?) if they stay out, though they dislike paying an interest-rate premium for the privilege.
British politics has already been tarnished by scandals over influence-peddling and expenses.
But the debate over British membership of the euro is probably the biggest single influence on sterling's value.
The Foreign Office says its policy is to use "all appropriate influence" to prevent the execution of a British national including "high-level political lobbying when necessary".
BBC: Bali drugs: Death sentence for Briton Lindsay Sandiford
Years before the US beers inspired a flowering of British brewers, beers in the UK had a decisive influence on the US craft revival of the 1970s.
British officials privately concede that they are worried about retaining their influence from outside the euro-zone.
The influence of Smedley and his peers on the liberalisation of British media is plain.
In the end, some 80, 000 quit the new republic for Britain, the British colonies in the Caribbean and especially for Canada, where their influence has been lasting.
Dr Tovee and his colleague, Dr Viren Swami, have previously researched what factors could alter BMI preferences, including publishing a paper in the British Journal of Psychology on the effect of hunger, and the influence of the media.
If the damage from the scandal was limited to British newspapers, or even to Mr Murdoch's reputation and political influence, it would be manageable for the company even if dire for him.
It proved an commercial and style success as its influence spread to the area of modern cultural arena, with British "Mods" wearing it as a trademark item as they faced up to their "Rocker" rivals.
CNN: Tennis fashion brands serve up a healthy return for players
In 1916, French and British diplomats secretly reached the Sykes-Picot agreement, carving up the Middle East into spheres of influence for their respective countries.
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