The Labour Party, Nationalism and Internationalism, 1939-1951The Second World War was a watershed moment in foreign policy for the Labour Party in Britain. Before the war, British socialists had held that nationalism was becoming obsolete and that humanity was steadily evolving towards the ideal of a single world government. The collapse of the League of Nations destroyed this optimistic vision, compelling Labour to undertake a fundamental review of its entire approach to foreign affairs during a period of unprecedented global crisis. This book traces the controversy that ensued, as the British democratic left set about the task of defining the principles of a radically new international system for the postwar world. The schemes proposed by Labour policymakers during these years encompassed a wide variety of political institutions aiming at the restraint or supersession of the sovereign nation-state. What they shared in common, however, was a reconceptualization of British identity, in which the hyper-patriotism of the wartime period blended with the left's traditional internationalism. This new 'muscular' internationalism was to have a major impact upon the evolution of entities as diverse as the United Nations Organizations, the British Commonwealth and the accelerating campaign in favor of European unity after Labour assumed the reins of government in 1945. Breaking with the traditional accounts that place Cold War tensions at the centre of the Attlee government's activities in the immediate postwar years, R.M. Douglas's book provides an entirely new framework for reassessing British foreign policy and left-wing concepts of national identity during the most turbulent moment of Britain's modern history. This book will be essential reading for all students and researchers of British foreign policy, the Labour Party and international relations. |
Other editions - View all
The Labour Party, Nationalism and Internationalism, 1939-1951 R. M. Douglas No preview available - 2015 |
The Labour Party, Nationalism and Internationalism, 1939-1951 R. M. Douglas No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
ACIQ affairs Assembly attitude Attlee Attlee's backbench Brailsford Britain British Labour Cabinet Charter Churchill Clement Attlee collective security Commonwealth Council of Europe countries Creech Jones Cripps declared delegation democratic draft economic Empire Ernest Bevin European federation European Unity Europeanists Fabian Society favour Federal Union Foreign Office Foreign Secretary Four-Power Plan FRPS G.D.H. Cole H.C. Deb Henderson Hugh Dalton idea imperial international authority international government international organisation International Post-War Settlement internationalism internationalist January Jebb Labour government Labour Party Labour's foreign policy leaders League of Nations League's Leonard Woolf London Mackay mandates memorandum ment Noel-Baker October Oxford papers Parliamentary party's peace aims permanent Philip Noel-Baker political postwar Prime Minister principle proposals question response rĂ´le Security Council September social Socialist sovereignty Soviet Union speech statement Statesman and Nation territories Trusteeship United Nations University Press veto Victor Gollancz Western Europe Woolf world government world order world organisation Zilliacus