This study describes how the past 500 years shows that nations which became great powers had to decline as their growth rate slowed and their spending on defence continued to increase and explains how this can be eased or worsened by clever or short-sighted policy decisions. The final chapter looks at the current dilemna of the USA, the USSR, the EEC, Japan and China, and peers. Paul Kennedy also wrote "Strategy and Diplomacy, 1870-1945" and "The Realities Behind Diplomacy, 1865-1980"