A tribute to the distinguished diplomatic historian, Professor Michael Dockrill (1936-2018), this collection provides a comprehensive overview of the field of twentieth-century British foreign and defence policy. With contributions from the most esteemed academic thinkers in the field, this collection will be of great value to anyone interested in British foreign and strategic policy, whether they are a senior academic or an undergraduate researcher. In memory of the late Professor Dockrill, the essays place British foreign policy in a wide range of geographical, thematic and chronological perspectives.
Volume I examines international diplomacy in relation to the conduct of the First World War, the peace-making process that followed it, and the origins of the Second World War, mapping very closely to the interests of Professor Dockrill in the early stages of his career. Focusing on Great Power diplomacy seen through the lens of bi-lateral relations between states, the essaysexplore Britains relations not only with European powers, but also with the United States and Japan. The views and operations of the British Foreign Office feature heavily, as do the lives and opinions of diplomats, primarily from the British Diplomatic Service, during the years 1890-1939. Analysing British strategic thinking around war and its consequences, this collection sheds light on the first steps in the evolution of international bodies built to preserve order around the world.
Introduction.
Chapter 1: John Young, The British War Councils of
August 1914.
Chapter 2: Brian McKercher, British Strategic Objectives,
Austria, and Central-East Europe, 1918-1925.
Chapter 3: Antony Best,
Britain and the East Asian Conundrum in 1919: Another Side of
Peace-making.
Chapter 4: John Fisher, Wheels within wheels: Alwyn
Parkers Turkish Railway Diplomacy, 1919-1925.
Chapter 5: Pippa Catterall,
Politics, Public Discourse and British Naval Policy in the 1920s.
Chapter
6: Christopher Baxter: Sheer Lunacy: British diplomats, the handling of
documents and overseas security in the 1930s.
Chapter 7: Peter Neville,
Munich. A Reassessment.
Chapter 8: Alastair Noble, Exploiting
Appeasement? The Royal Air Force after the Munich Agreement.
Chapter 9:
Richard Carswell, Views of the Anglo-French Alliance 1939-40: Establishment
and Press Compared.
Chapter 10: Andrew Stewart, Soapbox Diplomacy and
Shady Friends: Challenges to Anglo-New Zealand Relations before the Second
World War.
Antony Best is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, UK. His most recent single-authored book is British Intelligence and the Japanese Challenge in Asia, 1914-1941 (Palgrave 2002), and he is one of the co-authors of International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond, 3rd edition (2015).
Gaynor Johnson is Professor Emerita in International History at the University of Kent, UK. Her most recent publications relate to the history and operation of the British Foreign Office and the use of prosopography as a research tool for international historians. She has also published widely on twentieth-century British foreign policy. Her most recent book is Politician and Internationalist: Lord Robert Cecil (2013).
