This thesis aims to understand why the Dutch centre-right governments between 1979 and 1989 - under the leadership of Dries van Agt and Ruud Lubbers - saw Great Britain as an ally on questions of...Show moreThis thesis aims to understand why the Dutch centre-right governments between 1979 and 1989 - under the leadership of Dries van Agt and Ruud Lubbers - saw Great Britain as an ally on questions of European integration during the 1980s. Political, economic, strategic, and personal contexts will be considered in the analysis.Show less
After the Second World War, eleven dependent territories came under supervision of the United Nations Trusteeship Council. This thesis focuses on the trust territories of Togoland under British and...Show moreAfter the Second World War, eleven dependent territories came under supervision of the United Nations Trusteeship Council. This thesis focuses on the trust territories of Togoland under British and French administration and their roads to independence. It questions how the UN Trusteeship Council managed developments of decolonization in these West African trust territories. Specifically, it analyses the ways in which the Council was able to facilitate or obstruct policies by the British and French governments to retain control over the decolonization of these territories. It concludes that the role of the Council was determined by the compatibility of such policies with the aims of the Council, as well as by the interplay of national interests, international diplomacy and dynamics of empire.Show less
This thesis seeks to answer the question "In what way did the pamphleteers of Great Britain identify the colonists living in America during the American Revolution and Revolutionary War (1764-1783)...Show moreThis thesis seeks to answer the question "In what way did the pamphleteers of Great Britain identify the colonists living in America during the American Revolution and Revolutionary War (1764-1783)? To find an answer to this question, twenty pamphlets (each for every year the Revolution and War took place) have been researched. The question of whether or not nationalism was at play during this time has also been a guideline while writing, and researching for, this thesis.Show less
This thesis provides a new interpretation of German and British First World War poetry by comparing examples from both languages. By looking at the themes found in the soldiers' poetry it aims to...Show moreThis thesis provides a new interpretation of German and British First World War poetry by comparing examples from both languages. By looking at the themes found in the soldiers' poetry it aims to provide more insight in the personal experiences of German and British infantrymen in the trenches of the First World War.Show less
Recently, the positions of France, Great Britain and Germany towards the Middle East Peace Process have started to show convergence. However, it is unclear what has caused this. This multiple...Show moreRecently, the positions of France, Great Britain and Germany towards the Middle East Peace Process have started to show convergence. However, it is unclear what has caused this. This multiple qualitative case study assesses whether this convergence is the result of the gradual adoption of common European positions and ideas, also known as Europeanization, or that it has been caused by domestic and geopolitical factors. The findings of this study suggest that limited Europeanization has occurred but that the level and kind of Europeanization differs among the three states. Whereas Great Britain and Germany have been influenced by Europeanization, France has successfully managed to influence Europe’s position towards the Middle East Peace Process. This study concludes that the difference in Europeanization has predominantly been caused by each of the states’ unique strategic and historic backgrounds.Show less
An examination of private diplomatic and political contacts between the United States and Great Britain during the escalation of the Falklands conflict, from the ascent of the Galtieri government...Show moreAn examination of private diplomatic and political contacts between the United States and Great Britain during the escalation of the Falklands conflict, from the ascent of the Galtieri government in December 1981 till the final defeat of Argentina in June 1982. Newly released primary sources, often secret in nature, are used to investigate the consequences for the Anglo-American relationship.Show less
Within his account of the Islamic Revolution, The Priest and the King, Desmond Harney, a former British diplomat in Teheran, made reference to the “old Iranian conviction of ‘the hand of the...Show moreWithin his account of the Islamic Revolution, The Priest and the King, Desmond Harney, a former British diplomat in Teheran, made reference to the “old Iranian conviction of ‘the hand of the English’ (dast-e Englis-ha).” The most obvious manifestations of the British presence in Iran during the 1970s were the British Foreign Office (FCO) and the BBC Persian Service (BBCPS). The BBCPS was significant as a media enterprise, in relation to the heavily censored domestic Iranian media, but also due to the part it played in the triangle which existed between the BBCPS, the British FCO and the Shah. The Shah believed that it was, in part, the BBC that had instigated, or at least promoted, the unrest which resulted in the 1979 revolution. Was this paranoia on the part of the Shah, or was it justified? A consideration of archival sources in the BBC written archives and the FCO archives during the decade preceding the Iranian Revolution helps to elucidate the complex relationship which existed between the BBCPS and the British FCO, while also providing some sort of answers as to why the Shah felt so threatened by the activities of a foreign media institution.Show less
The coincidence of increased immigration into Britain in the late nineteenth century with the revitalisation of the trade union movement encourages the investigation of interaction between the two...Show moreThe coincidence of increased immigration into Britain in the late nineteenth century with the revitalisation of the trade union movement encourages the investigation of interaction between the two phenomena. This study seeks to determine the impact that immigrants had upon trade unions that were primarily created for workers born in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, whether through joining these unions, through the impact of their own independent unions, or as unorganised workers. Specifically, the Alliance Cabinet Makers Association, the primary furniture making union, is considered as an example of immigrant integration into British trade unionism of the period, revealing significant levels of immigrant participation, and therefore evidence for considerable acculturation into elements of British society. Trade union records and census data are combined to create an in-depth study of the background and identities of hundreds of trade union members over a thirty year period. Ultimately, the historical investigation is compared to contemporary trends in immigration and trade unionism, both in the United Kingdom and the United States.Show less
In this study, I focused on how historians looked at British and American handling of the ‘Polish Question’ in World War II. This was from the moment the discovery of the mass graves at Katyn led...Show moreIn this study, I focused on how historians looked at British and American handling of the ‘Polish Question’ in World War II. This was from the moment the discovery of the mass graves at Katyn led to a break between the Soviet Union and the Polish government-in-exile in April 1943 to the end of the Warsaw Uprising in September 1944. I was particularly interested in what ways the United States and Great Britain wanted to solve this problem in accordance with the wishes of the Polish government-in-exile. It seems as if historians are biased on this subject. They mainly see a pleasing Allied side, desperately trying to keep Stalin in the War. Churchill and Roosevelt wanted to please Stalin so much, according to these historians, that they were willing to sell out their Polish allies and to forget about the Soviet crimes committed in the Easter-European country. Instead of this biased historical look on affairs, summarized in the schools of innocence and blame, I argue for the school of reconstruction or a more objective look at this subject.Show less
