This book is a collection of diplomatic documents describing the development of British relations with the Nordic countries between the end of the Second World War and the defeat of the Labour Government in 1951. The end of the Second World War brought hopes of building a new society in Western Europe. This volume documents Foreign Office concerns about the range of problems, both multilateral and bilateral, which still remained to be resolved in the Nordic area, and describes the evolution of policies to deal with them. The Soviet Union, which in May 1945 already occupied parts of Norway and Denmark and dominated Finland, was perceived as a growing threat. The Nordic region was considered to be of significant strategic importance during this period. The documents describe the process whereby Britain attempted to encourage Scandinavian countries away from their support for neutrality and, by enlisting American support, began the process which led to the signature of the Atlantic Treaty in 1949, signed by Norway, Denmark and Iceland. They also include material describing the establishment of Information Research Department (formed to counteract Soviet propaganda) and illustrating some of its methods. Some documents not previously in the public domain have been declassified for this volume. Most are drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but there are also a number of Prime Ministerial and Cabinet Office documents. This book will be of much interest to students of the Cold War, European history, British political history, international history and IR in general.

This book is a collection of diplomatic documents describing the development of British relations with the Nordic countries between the end of the Second World War and the defeat of the Labour Government in 1951. The end of the Second World War brought hopes of building a new society in Western Europe. This volume documents Foreign Office concerns about the range of problems, both multilateral and bilateral, which still remained to be resolved in the Nordic area, and describes the evolution of policies to deal with them. The Soviet Union, which in May 1945 already occupied parts of Norway and Denmark and dominated Finland, was perceived as a growing threat. The Nordic region was considered to be of significant strategic importance during this period. The documents describe the process whereby Britain attempted to encourage Scandinavian countries away from their support for neutrality and, by enlisting American support, began the process which led to the signature of the Atlantic Treaty in 1949, signed by Norway, Denmark and Iceland. They also include material describing the establishment of Information Research Department (formed to counteract Soviet propaganda) and illustrating some of its methods. Some documents not previously in the public domain have been declassified for this volume. Most are drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but there are also a number of Prime Ministerial and Cabinet Office documents. This book will be of much interest to students of the Cold War, European history, British political history, international history and IR in general.

This volume documents the drafting, negotiation and signature of the treaty that has been the cornerstone of European defence for the past sixty-five years: the North Atlantic Treaty signed in April 1949. The story begins at the end of 1947, when the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, became convinced of the need to persuade the United States of America, which had emerged from the Second World War as the pre-eminent global military and economic power and one of the only two superpowers, to underwrite the future security of Western Europe. It progresses through the negotiation of the Brussels Treaty of March 1948—an essential prerequisite to securing American participation in a wider defensive system—and ends with the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty after a series of setbacks, difficulties and security threats. The documents, drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and No. 10 (with some transferred into the public domain for the first time), demonstrate how diplomatic skills and determination, inspired by Bevin’s vision, led to a system of collective security that played an indispensable part in the preservation of peace between East and West for the rest of the twentieth century. This book will be of much interest to students of the Cold War, European and American history, British political history, international history and IR in general.

The crisis of apartheid that began in 1984 provoked international outrage on an unprecedented scale and this volume documents the attempt by the British Government to formulate a response.

Appendix B The Dunkirk Treaty, 4 March 1947 -- Index

This volume presents a collection of diplomatic documents describing Britain’s relations with Eastern Europe from 1979 to 1982, with special focus on the crisis in Poland. After coming to power in 1979, the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher reaffirmed a policy of ‘differentiation’ between the Soviet Union and the rest of Eastern Europe, and between individual countries; concurrently it encouraged states to exercise a limited amount of independence. This policy was soon put to the test when in 1980 Solidarność, the Solidarity trade union led by Lech Wałęsa, challenged the power of the Party state in Poland. Political demands, social unrest and economic crisis culminated in the imposition of martial law in December 1981, finally suspended in December 1982. The volume maps the UK response, in consultation with Western partners, to the unfolding crisis in Poland, the threat of Soviet intervention and the impact on other Communist states in Europe. The volume also provides a flavour of bilateral UK relations with Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia; highlighting themes such as human rights and trade. This volume will be of great interest to students of British Politics, Eastern European Politics, Cold War History, Diplomacy Studies and International Relations in general.