Robb Thomas draws upon a wealth of previously classified documents to reveal that relations between Britain and the United States of America during Carter's presidency were riven with antagonism and disagreement. Contrary to existing interpretations, even the most 'special' aspects of intelligence and nuclear cooperation were not immune to high-level political tension. Robb exposes the true competitive nature of the relationship during Carter's presidency, as well as providing an original understanding to how both countries approached the breakdown of superpower detente; the subject of international human rights promotion; the tackling of common economic and energy challenges and to the Anglo-American nuclear and intelligence relationship.

Reveals the true nature of relations between the US and the UK during the Carter presidency. Thomas K. Robb draws upon a wealth of previously classified documents to reveal that relations between Britain and the United States of America during Carter's presidency were riven with antagonism and disagreement. Contrary to existing interpretations, even the most 'special' aspects of intelligence and nuclear cooperation were not immune to high-level political tension. Robb exposes the true competitive nature of the relationship during Carter's presidency, as well as providing an original understanding to how both countries approached the breakdown of superpower détente; the subject of international human rights promotion; the tackling of common economic and energy challenges and to the Anglo-American nuclear and intelligence relationship.

This book is a study of Jimmy Carter's career, his approach to human rights, his formulation of goals, and his practices before, during, and after his presidency, with a focus on the extent to which the promotion and protection of human rights influenced his actions at home and abroad. Historians underestimate the uniqueness of the juncture in the 1970s when Carter missed an opportunity to change priorities in American diplomacy, a misreading that might be explained by the disparity between Carter's agenda and the reality created by his administration's record. This book identifies and examines how Carter's ambitious words and promising ideals did not translate into policy, though his intentions were noble. At a pivotal moment, his administration adopted human rights as a tenet for foreign policy, but Carter did not design imaginative guidelines or prescribe new practices to advance this theme. The Future Almost Arrived illuminates how, had Carter succeeded in recruiting senior staff to support and implement an innovative agenda, the result might have been an overhaul of U.S. foreign policy, with human rights at its center - which, by improving his chances for re-election, would have changed the course of history.

This handbook examines the personal relationships between American presidents and British prime ministers. It aims to determine how personal diplomacy shaped the Anglo-American relationship and whether individual leaders made the relationship “special.” From the great rapprochement of the 1890s to the Cold War and contemporary transatlantic rapport, the Anglo-American relationship has been one of global significance, making presidents and prime ministers central to international security, trade and commerce, culture, and communication. Naturally, it explores the ideas and convictions of presidents and prime ministers, the political parties they led, as well as the political images constructed in the media and how the aura of the Anglo-American relationship might differ from the reality. With a deeper understanding of these political leaders and the relationship they forge with their counterparts, we come that much closer to appreciating the dynamics of transatlantic statecraft.

This book seeks to demystify the persistence of the Anglo-American Special Relationship (AASR) in the post-Cold War era by constructing a new theory of alliance persistence. This theory of alliance persistence not only has stronger explanatory power than the predominant model of interests and sentiments, but also opens a new way for understanding what factors have prevented the AASR from collapsing. This innovative new volume fills the gap in AASR literature by focusing on the important role of institutionalization in sustaining the AASR, a factor that has been significantly overlooked in existing academic research.

During the 1970s human rights took the front stage in international relations; fuelling political debates, social activism and a reconceptualising of both East-West and North-South relations. Nowhere was the debate on human rights more intense than in Western Europe, where human rights discourses intertwined the Cold War and the European Convention on Human Rights, the legacies of European empires, and the construction of national welfare systems. Over time, the European Community (EC) began incorporating human rights into its international activity, with the ambitious political will to prove that the Community was a global “civilian power.” This book brings together the growing scholarship on human rights during the 1970s, the history of European integration and the study of Western European supranational cooperation. Examining the role of human rights in EC activities in Latin America, Africa, the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, The Human Rights Breakthrough of the 1970s seeks to verify whether a specifically European approach to human rights existed, and asks whether there was a distinctive 'European voice' in the human rights surge of the 1970s.

Drawing on recently declassified documents and elite interviews with key protagonists that reveal candid recollections, Sally-Ann Treharne highlights the pivotal moments in Reagan and Thatcher's shared history from a new vantage point.