Affluent Society - Foreign Relations

Question 1

1951 - British position internationally

Answer 1

WW2 = Britain with massive debts and up in the shadow of two new military superpowers, USA and Soviet Union
- had to tell American that Britain faced bankruptcy and has to withdraw from commitments to Greece, Turkey, and Palestine
- same year, independence was granted to India and Pakistan (Retreat from Empire)

Public and political opinion low about the future of British foreign policy

The Future Policy Study:
Britain accepted some but not all of implications of the retreat from Empire
“Britain had lost an Empire but had not found a role”
LOSING INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

Question 2

Atlantic Alliance

Answer 2

NATO
Formed in 1949 to defend the western alliance in the Cold War = collective defence policy (any members attacked, it would be defended by all of them

Question 3

The Schuman Plan

Answer 3

The Schuman Plan was the foundation of the EEC

Set out proposals for a Coal and Steel Community that would integrate historic enemies (France and Germany) in heavy industry.

This was to promote rapid economic construction and in the hope to prevent any future wars between them.

Strongly supported by Britain and USA as important contribution to security of Europe = vital at the beginning of Cold War

HOWEVER Britain did not initially become involved

Question 4

Why did Britain not become initially involved with the Schuman Plan?

Answer 4

Few politicians in favour of Britain taking a leadership role in Europe

Left was suspicious of the free-market principles behind the Common Market (EEC)

Right tended to regard the preservation of traditional trade links (Australia, Candada and New Zealand) as far more important than those with Europe

Assumption that Britain was still a great world power and would not need the support of the EEC

Britain wanted to balance its involvement with Europe with maintaining the special relationship with the USA

Question 5

Treaty of Rome

Answer 5

The Treaty of Rome launched the EEC in 1957 without Britain

Question 6

Partnership between France and Germany in the EEC

Answer 6

Charles de Gaulle was determined to protect this partnership from Britain and subsequently the USA through their partnership with the UK

Question 7

British attitudes shifting

Answer 7

1959 Britain took the lead of the formation of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Britain, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland)

Created a free trade area

Only moderately successful and not able to match the economic growth of the EEC

Question 8

British application to join the EEC

Answer 8

1961, Macmillan submitted Britain’s application to join the EEC

Reasons for a change in attitude:
- boost industrial production
- increase industrial efficiency
- stimulate economic growth

USA also keen on Britain joining EEC as it created a vital link between Europe and America

Tensions were rising in late 1950s due to Cold War

Britain’s imperial power had been shaken:
- Suez crisis
- accelerating pace if decolonisation in Africa

Question 9

Why was the application difficult?

Answer 9

Britain wanted to keep its position with two other areas of world affairs:
- Commonwealth
- United Sates
= made negotiations extremely difficult and complex

EEC has already developed detailed economic structures (e.g. Common Agricultural Policy) which Britain found difficult to conform to.

Britain’s trade with Commonwealth partners such as New Zealand would have been blocked by EEC rules but special exceptions had to be made for Britain

Question 10

The outcome of Britain’s application

Answer 10

Many months of hard bargaining by chief negotiator Edward Heath but negotiations seemed to have reached a successful conclusion in Jan 1963 but at the last minute Charles de Gaulle vetoed and blocked Britain’s application (protection the partnership between France and Germany from Britain and subsequently America)

Question 11

Situation between USSR, USA and UK

Answer 11

During WW2 = allies
Post war = USA and UK against spread of communism
Cold War = UK and USA allies (placed under strain though due to Burgess and Maclean affair, Britain’s relationship with the EEC, Suez crisis)

Britain still on international “top table”

Question 12

Burgess and Maclean affair

Answer 12

Revelation that British spies had been leaking vital secrets to Moscow deeply worried the Americans
= much less ready to share intelligence secrets with Britain

(Before, JFK would keep Macmillan informed with the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Question 13

Britain’s position internationally during Cold War

Answer 13

On international “top table” due to alliance with America.
However, still militarily outstretched and very dependent on American power (demonstrated by Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent)

Question 14

Why did Britain become committed to developing an independent nuclear deterrent?

Answer 14

USA had stopped sharing its nuclear secrets with Britain after the Burgess and Maclean affair.
Britain had to become a nuclear power by themselves.

Question 15

Nuclear policy

Answer 15

Churchill continued this policy
Britain’s first tests of the atomic bomb were in 1952 = Britain was the third country in the world to develop nuclear weapons (after USA & USSR)

However, USA and USSR were already developing more powerful hydrogen bombs
Britain’s ‘H’ bomb was tested in 1957

Question 16

CND

Answer 16

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Founded in 1958 after concerns about the rapid nuclear developments happening in Britain
Rapidly became the most powerful pressure group in Britain.
Backed by many intellectuals and mobilising middle-class protesters

Wanted Britain to reject nuclear weapons and instead follow a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament.

8000 people at demonstrations at weapons research base at Aldermaston 1958 and even more people in 1959

Many Labour left-wingers joined in

Question 17

Mutual Defence Agreement

Answer 17

1958 USA once again agreed to share nuclear technology with Britain under Mutual Defence Agreement.
Britain abandoned its project of Blue Streak and replaced it with the American Polaris submarine weapons system

Became clear that Britain would not have an independent nuclear deterrent and SOME OF LABOUR PARTY STARTED TO BECOME MORE SCEPTICAL OF SUPPORTING A PRO-NUCLEAR POLICY

Question 18

The Korean War (date and what happened)

Answer 18

1950-1953

End of WW2, Korea was occupied by the Soviet Union in the north, and the USA in the south = both claiming to be legitimate governments.

1950, forces from North Korea, supported by the USSR and China, invaded the south.
= United Nations were condemned to action and sent forces to combat the invasion (over 20 countries supplied troops) e.g. Britain provided 90,000 soldiers

Ceasefire agreed in 1953 and agreed that Korea would be split between communist North Korea and non-communist South Korea.

Question 19

The Korean War impacts

Answer 19

Showed that the Cold War was being fought across the whole world.

Demostraste Britain’s willingness to continue to play a major role in world affairs (despite economic constraints)

Clear that the USA was still a greater power than Britain

Question 20

The importance of the Suez Canal

Answer 20

Main artery connecting trade routes from the Mediterranean through to the Indian Ocean and beyond to Asia and Oceania

Vital route for oil shipments = 80% of Western Europe’s oil imports passes through the canal

Question 21

What happened to make the Suez Canal nationalised?

Answer 21

After Britain’s decolonisation, there was an emergence of Egyptian independence under a new nationalist leader, Colonel Nasser.

USA and Britain planned to invest in the Aswan Dam but pulled out in 1956 = in response Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal to provide finance for the Aswan Dam

Placed Egypt on the Soviet side of the Cold War

Question 22

Why was the nationalisation of the canal an issue?

Answer 22

It threatened to cut off Europe’s oil supplies and other trade opportunities

Question 23

Britain’s retaliation to Suez Canal incident

Answer 23

Britain encouraged by both France and Israel and a secret meeting was held in Paris where a plan of action was formed

Israeli forces would invade Egypt and then British and French forces would intervine (the excuse for intervention would be to enforce peace of Egypt and Israel) However the real plan was to seize control of the Suez Canal Zone

Put into action on 29th October and caused a storm of political protest in Britain and the USA opposed the action

Question 24

The outcome of the Suez Canal crisis

Answer 24

USA opposed the action and Britain was not strong enough in 1956 to stand up to American pressure and was plunged into serious financial crisis.

• questioned Britain’s reputation as a force of good
• Britain’s inability to act without the support of the USA
• presented the impact that Britain’s economic and financial policy had on the direction of foreign policy
• undermine belief that Britain was still a major world power

Question 25

Date for Britain’s retreat from Empire

Answer 25

1947 with the withdrawal from India

Question 26

1950s problems with Empire

Answer 26

Colonial independence movements became harder and harder to contain e.g. Kenya

Other countries such as France and Belgium were also facing these issues

Question 27

Mau Mau rebellion

Answer 27

1952
Broke out in Kenya and it was a revolt against British rule
It was assumed that British forces would crush it bur it became difficult to control = demonstrated the problems with Britain’s colonial policies
After the Suez crisis, Britain began to reconsider the pace of decolonisation

Question 28

Impact of Mau Mau rebellion 1952

Answer 28

1957, Ghana became the first of Britain’s African colonies to be granted independence
1960 Macmillan’s ‘Winds of Change’ speech

Question 29

British aims before and after 1960

Answer 29

Before : imperial policy wa to defeat nationalist revolts and to maintain control over Britain’s African colonies

After : ‘Winds of Change’ speech in Cape Town 1960 called for decolonisation and recognition of independence movements

Macmillan was trying to persuade these countries to accept majority rule

Question 30

Decolonisation success or failure?

Answer 30

Success as was completed more swiftly and with far less violence then with other colonial powers such as Belgium and Portugal

By 1964, the transition from Empire to Commonwealth seemed to represent a significant achievement