A number of case studies from the period 1979 to 1986 have been examined within the framework of the British Constitution and in the light of the defence decision-making process as it has evolved since 1945. These case studies have covered government control of defence spending, the central defence organisation and ministerial changes at the Ministry of Defence, the acquisition of the Trident strategic nuclear submarine system and government efforts to counter the anti-nuclear lobby and the 1982 war in the South Atlantic.