Door de strategische ligging en de aanwezigheid van olie is de afgelopen decennia de rol van het Midden-Oosten in de wereldpolitiek belangrijker geworden. De Verenigde Staten ontwikkelden hiervoor...Show moreDoor de strategische ligging en de aanwezigheid van olie is de afgelopen decennia de rol van het Midden-Oosten in de wereldpolitiek belangrijker geworden. De Verenigde Staten ontwikkelden hiervoor de Twin Pillar Strategy, een strategie die de landen Saoedi-Arabie en Iran als belangrijkste steunpilaren voorzag. Door de Iraanse revolutie werden de presidenten Carter en Reagan gedwongen om deze te veranderen.Show less
This dissertation focuses on the ideas and beliefs of Hendrik Brugmans, an interesting and influential man during the start of the European integration process right after the Second World War.
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
