Portrait of an Institution: The US Embassy in London, 1945-53

Colman, Jonathan

doi:10.1163/187119109x455946

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Holmes and Rofe introduce the concept of "transatlantic diplomacy" to define the particular contribution of the US embassy in Grosvenor Square to the density and transparency of relations between Britan and the United States (Holmes and Rofe 2012, 13). Colman uses Berridge's list of ten basic functions that embassies fulfill in order to analyse the role of the US embassy in London during 1945-1953(Berridge 2005Colman 2009; see also; Lagrou 1995). Hellema and Scott-Smith explore the wider influence of the US embassy in both the local environment of The Hague and the national environment of the Netherlands in the fields of politics and policy, military and security relations, intelligence liaison, cultural and educational exchange, and social protest (Hellema and Scott-Smith 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

Scott‐Smith

2017

New Global Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The need to maintain embassies as essential outposts of diplomatic recognition and representation has been questioned by many observers. Critics deem them increasingly irrelevant in a globalized context of multiple, more adaptable actors, whereas their advocates hold on to the ongoing role of the nation-state in structures of global governance. Both sides agree that change is necessary, although they disagree on its goals and how far it should go. This Introduction sets out the main arguments present in the debate, laying the foundation for the articles that follow which explore how embassies, diplomats and diplomatic representation have all been adapted and transformed by the changing political context of the global era.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

Scott‐Smith

2017

New Global Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…143 As a result of this view, the Embassy Staff grew steadily in the early post-war years, and it played a key role in the formation of US/British policy going forward. 144 British Policy in Greece was focussed on establishing a government that included members from the moderate political groups in the country and the British hoped that the Varkiza accord would help accomplish that objective. One of the first conditions of the treaty required EAM/ELAS to surrender its weapons in order to be able to participate in the political process.…”

Section: The Varkiza Accordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anglo-american policy in Greece (1946-50)

Paravantes¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While trying to understand and explain the origins and dynamics of Anglo-American foreign policy in the pre and early years of the Cold War, the role thatperception played in the design and implementation of foreign policy became acentral focus. From this point came the realization of a general lack of emphasisand research into the ways in which the British government managed to convincethe United States government to assume support for worldwide British strategicobjectives. How this support was achieved is the central theme of this dissertation.This work attempts to provide a new analysis of the role that the British played in the dramatic shift in American foreign policy from 1946 to 1950. Toachieve this shift (which also included support of British strategic interests in theEastern Mediterranean) this dissertation argues that the British used Greece, first asa way to draw the United States further into European affairs, and then as a way toanchor the United States in Europe, achieving a guarantee of security of theEastern Mediterranean and of Western Europe.To support these hypotheses, this work uses mainly the British andAmerican documents relating to Greece from 1946 to 1950 in an attempt to clearlyexplain how these nations made and implemented policy towards Greece duringthis crucial period in history. In so doing it also tries to explain how Americanforeign policy in general changed from its pre-war focus on non-intervention, to the American foreign policy to which the world has become accustomed since 1950. To answer these questions, I, like the occupying (and later intervening)powers did, must use Greece as an example. In this, I hope that I may be forgivensince unlike them, I intend not to make of it one. My objectives for doing so lie notin justifying policy, but rather in explaining it. This study would appear to havespecial relevance now, not only for the current financial crisis which has placedGreece once again in world headlines, but also for the legacy of the Second WorldWar and the post-war strife the country experienced which is still playing out todaywith examples like the Distomo massacre, German war reparations and on-goingsocial, academic and political strife over the legacy of the Greek Civil War.

show abstract

The US Embassy in London and Britain’s Withdrawal from East of Suez, 1961–69

Young¹

2013

Britain in Global Politics Volume 2

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One of Saki Dockrill's most significant publications was her monograph, Britain's Retreat from East of Suez. 1 In this, the first archival study of the subject, she set Britain's reassessment of its defence priorities in a broad context, looking not only at withdrawal from Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf, but also at relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) over such questions as nuclear-sharing and the size of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). She showed that, in reducing spending, the British initially sought cuts in NATO; yet, by 1968, the Wilson government was set on a European future, eager to abandon the world role and enter the European Economic Community (EEC). Saki also looked at the debate over particular weapons systems, such as aircraft carriers and the US-manufactured F-111 aircraft, both vital to a world role. Some previous writers emphasised that the January 1968 decision to quit military bases East of Suez by the end of 1971, was the vital turning point in the process of retreat. 2 Others argued it merely marked an acceleration of earlier decisions, especially those announced in July 1967. 3 But, Saki looked further back, seeing harbingers of retreat under the Conservative governments of 1959-63. 4 Throughout the discussions, a vital question was the need to maintain friendly relations with London's main ally, the United States, which, concerned about its own defence burden, could hardly welcome Britain's retreat. This essay looks at the East of Suez debate from the vantage point of the US Ambassador in London, looking at how his embassy interpreted the various stages of British decisionmaking, how well it was informed about the debate and what it did to influence British leaders. 5

show abstract

Portrait of an Institution: The US Embassy in London, 1945-53

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Introduction

Introduction

Anglo-american policy in Greece (1946-50)

The US Embassy in London and Britain’s Withdrawal from East of Suez, 1961–69

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About