Since the end of the Bosnian war of the early 1990s, ultimate power has resided with the United Nations and European community, in the shape of an envoy known as the High Representative.

BBC: Nikola Spiric (file image)

Equally though it should be apparent that the world is less stable than it was, say at the time of that 1977 fleet review, and that the ability of the UK or the Western family of nations more widely, to shape world events is sharply diminished.

BBC: Jubilees show UK's declining ability to protect itself

Nearly half of all growth outside the U.S. over the next five years is expected to come from Asia, and the choices that nations across the region make now will shape the character of the entire global system for years to come.

WSJ: Tom Donilon: The President's Free-Trade Path to Prosperity