An overview will be given of the recent research at Leicester concerning the large-scale dynamics of the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn which result from the combined action of solar wind interaction and planetary rotation. Particular emphasis will be placed on auroral observations as remotely-sensed indicators of field-aligned currents that communicate momentum between the atmosphere-ionosphere and the magnetosphere-solar wind regions. These will be discussed within the context of both theoretical modelling studies and recent in situ observations.