Shaping the future of the world : Eden, the Foreign Office and British foreign policy 1941-1943
The Second World War has captured the interest of people around the world, and has fascinated generations of historians. Despite the time that has elapsed since the events, and the opening of the official papers in 1977, one thing remains the same, the under-examination of British foreign policy during the war. The history that has been written has struggled to break from the picture Churchill painted in âThe Second World Warâ, presenting the inevitability of the Anglo-American special relationship and minimising the important contributions of Eden and the Foreign Office. In an exercise in anti-Whig history, this thesis attempts to right this historical wrong, and suggest that this was not the only outcome available to Britain as a result of the Second World War. By examining the Foreign Office records, it presents a different picture: that traditional British foreign policy was still going strong, and that the Foreign Office, with Eden at the helm, had its own vision for the post-war world. In this vision Britain would remain a great power with an independent foreign policy, and would be involved in a global post-war organisation designed to maintain European and World peace. This work will examine the
Hall, David
Shaping the future of the world : Eden, the Foreign Office and British foreign policy 1941-1943. The Second World War has captured the interest of people around the world, and has fascinated generations of historians. Despite the time that has elapsed since the events, and the opening of the official papers in 1977, one thing remains the same, the under-examination of British foreign policy during the war. The history that has been written has struggled to break from the picture Churchill painted in âThe Second World Warâ, presenting the inevitability of the Anglo-American special relationship and minimising the important contributions of Eden and the Foreign Office. In an exercise in anti-Whig history, this thesis attempts to right this historical wrong, and suggest that this was not the only outcome available to Britain as a result of the Second World War. By examining the Foreign Office records, it presents a different picture: that traditional British foreign policy was still going strong, and that the Foreign Office, with Eden at the helm, had its own vision for the post-war world. In this vision Britain would remain a great power with an independent foreign policy, and would be involved in a global post-war organisation designed to maintain European and World peace. This work will examine the
shaping future world foreign_office british_foreign_policy second_world_war capture interest people around_world generation historian despite time since event open official paper one_thing remain_under examination british_foreign_policy war history write break picture paint second_world_war present inevitability anglo_american special_relationship minimise important_contribution foreign_office exercise anti whig history attempt right historical wrong suggest outcome available britain second_world_war examine foreign_office record present different picture traditional british_foreign_policy still strong foreign_office vision post war world vision britain would remain great_power independent foreign_policy would involve global post_war organisation design maintain european world peace work examine