The aspirations of democracy and the requirements of diplomacy have always coexisted uneasily. The politicians discussed in this book, in particular the appreciation of the careers of John Bright and James Bryce, reflect obliquely or directly on the problems of politicians who seek the 'high moral ground' either in domestic or international politics. There is also a discussion of the relationship between politicians and the press, as well as of the difficult link between cultural and political assumptions on the one hand and the facts of economic performance on the other.

Peter Yearwood reconsiders the League of Nations, not as an attempt to realize an idea but as an element in the day-to-day conduct of Britain's foreign policy and domestic politics during the period 1914-25. He challenges the usual view that London reluctantly adopted the idea in response to pressure from Woodrow Wilson and from domestic public opinion, and that it was particularly wary of ideas of collective security. Instead he examines how London actively promoted the idea to manage Anglo-American relations in war and to provide the context for an enduring hegemonic partnership. The book breaks new ground in examining how London tried to use the League in the crises of the early 1920s: Armenia, Persia, Vilna, Upper Silesia, Albania, and Corfu. It shows how in the negotiations leading to the Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance, the Geneva Protocol, and the Locarno accords, Robert Cecil, Ramsay MacDonald, and Austen Chamberlain tried to solve the Franco-German security question through the League. This involves a re-examination of how these leaders tried to use the League as an issue in British domestic politics and why it emerged as central to British foreign policy. Based on extensive, detailed archival research, this book provides a new and authoritative account of a largely misunderstood topic.

This book investigates how British diplomats in Tehran and London reacted to the overthrow of the Shah and the creation of an Islamic Republic in Iran, which had previously been a major political and commercial partner for London in the Middle East. Making substantial use of recently declassified archival material, the book explores the role of a significant diplomatic institution – the resident embassy – and the impact of revolutions on diplomatic relations. It evaluates the performance of those charged with British diplomacy during the Iranian Revolution, as Britain’s position fell from favour under the post-revolutionary regime. Examining the views of key diplomatic personnel at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and British ministers, this study seeks to explain how British policy towards Iran was shaped and the means of diplomacy employed. In charting the evolution of Britain’s diplomatic relationship with Iran during this period, a number of factors are considered, including historical experience, geography, economics, world politics and domestic concerns. It also highlights the impact of events within the Iranian domestic political scene which were beyond London’s control but which shaped British policy significantly.

The Second World War was a watershed moment in foreign policy for the Labour Party in Britain. Before the war, British socialists had held that nationalism was becoming obsolete and that humanity was steadily evolving towards the ideal of a single world government. The collapse of the League of Nations destroyed this optimistic vision, compelling Labour to undertake a fundamental review of its entire approach to foreign affairs during a period of unprecedented global crisis. This book traces the controversy that ensued, as the British democratic left set about the task of defining the principles of a radically new international system for the postwar world. The schemes proposed by Labour policymakers during these years encompassed a wide variety of political institutions aiming at the restraint or supersession of the sovereign nation-state. What they shared in common, however, was a reconceptualization of British identity, in which the hyper-patriotism of the wartime period blended with the left's traditional internationalism. This new 'muscular' internationalism was to have a major impact upon the evolution of entities as diverse as the United Nations Organizations, the British Commonwealth and the accelerating campaign in favor of European unity after Labour assumed the reins of government in 1945. Breaking with the traditional accounts that place Cold War tensions at the centre of the Attlee government's activities in the immediate postwar years, R.M. Douglas's book provides an entirely new framework for reassessing British foreign policy and left-wing concepts of national identity during the most turbulent moment of Britain's modern history. This book will be essential reading for all students and researchers of British foreign policy, the Labour Party and international relations.

An innovative study of the pre-history of the League of Nations, tracing the pro-League movement's unexpected development.

The two centuries after 1800 witnessed a series of sweeping changes in the way in which Britain was governed, the duties of the state, and its role in the wider world. Powerful processes--from the development of democracy, the changing nature of the social contract, war, and economic dislocation--have challenged, and at times threatened to overwhelm, both governors and governed. Such shifts have also presented challenges to the historians who have researched and written about Britain's past politics. This Handbook shows the ways in which political historians have responded to these challenges, providing a snapshot of a field which has long been at the forefront of conceptual and methodological innovation within historical studies. It comprises thirty-three thematic essays by leading and emerging scholars in the field. Collectively, these essays assess and rethink the nature of modern British political history itself and suggest avenues and questions for future research. The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History thus provides a unique resource for those who wish to understand Britain's political past and a thought-provoking 'long view' for those interested in current political challenges.

In the 1930s, the British public's emotional response to the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War, including the bombing of Guernica, shaped the mass-politics of the age. Similarly, alleged German atrocities in World War I against the Belgians and the French had led to campaigns in Britain for donations to support the victims. Why then, was the British public seemingly less concerned with the treatment of Jews in Hitler's Germany? Outlining a 'hierarchy of compassion', Russell Wallis seeks to show how and why the Holocaust met initially with such a muted response in Britain. Drawing on primary source material, Wallis shows why the Nuremberg laws, Kristallnacht and the creation of the Prague Ghetto were reported without great protest. Even after the reality of the 'Final Solution' was revealed to the British Parliament by Anthony Eden in 1942, the Holocaust remained a footnote to the war effort. Britain, Germany and the Road to the Holocaust is a study of the British relationship with Germany in the period, and a dissection of British attitudes towards the genocide in Europe.

This book provides the first biographical study of Charles Pelham Villiers (1802-1898), whose long UK parliamentary career spanned numerous government administrations under twenty different prime ministers. An aristocrat from a privileged background, Villiers was elected to Parliament as a Radical in 1835 and subsequently served the constituency of Wolverhampton for sixty-three years until his death in 1898. A staunch Liberal free trader throughout his life, Villiers played a pre-eminent role in the Anti-Corn Law League as its parliamentary champion, introduced an important series of Poor Law reforms and later split with William Gladstone over the issue of Irish Home Rule, turning thereafter to Liberal Unionism. Hence Villiers, who remains the longest-serving MP in British parliamentary history, was intimately involved with many of the great issues of the Victorian Age in Britain.

The Encyclopedia of Diplomacy is a complete and authoritative 4-volume compendium of the most important events, people and terms associated with diplomacy and international relations from ancient times to the present, from a global perspective. An invaluable resource for anyone interested in diplomacy, its history and the relations between states Includes newer areas of scholarship such as the role of non-state organizations, including the UN and Médecins Sans Frontières, and the exercise of soft power, as well as issues of globalization and climate change Provides clear, concise information on the most important events, people, and terms associated with diplomacy and international relations in an A-Z format All entries are rigorously peer reviewed to ensure the highest quality of scholarship Provides a platform to introduce unfamiliar terms and concepts to students engaging with the literature of the field for the first time

The Derbys of Knowsley Hall have been neglected by historians to an astonishing degree. In domestic political terms, the legacies of Disraeli and his Conservative successors have long obscured their Lancastrian aristocratic predecessors. As far as foreign policy is concerned, twentieth century politics and scholarship have often suggested crude polarities: for example, the idea of 'appeasement' versus Churchillian belligerence has its nineteenth century equivalent in Aberdeen's apparent rivalry with Palmerston. The subtleties of other views, such as those represented by the Derbys, have either been overlooked or misunderstood. In addition, the fact that much crucial archival and editorial work has only been carried out in the last two decades has had a significant impact. Examining a range of topics in domestic and foreign policy, this collection brings a fresh approach to the political history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through a series of innovative essays. It will appeal to those with an interest in the decline of the aristocracy, Victorian high politics and the politics of the regions, as well as the Conservative tradition in foreign policy.