Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'British Union of Fascists History'

Denna uppsats ämnar finna de faktorer som drev före detta suffragetter till att ansluta sig till den fascistiska organisationen British Union of Fascists (BUF), samt redogöra för organisationens syn på kvinnors och kvinnors roll i samhället.  BUF grundades 1932 och var den största och mest framstående fascistiska gruppen i Storbritannien under mellankrigstiden. I samband med att organisationen nådde sin höjd i mitten av 1930-talet blev den ökänd för sina våldsamma möten och konfrontationer med politiska motståndare. De våldsamma metoderna som fascisterna använde skulle alienera dem från den breda brittiska politiken. När BUF proklamerade sitt stöd för Adolf Hitlers Nazityskland kom organisationen att fördömas av både den brittiska allmänheten och de etablerade partierna. British Union of Fascists skulle motsätta sig andra världskriget och uppmanade regeringen att förbjuda organisationen och arresterade många högtuppsatta medlemmar 1940. Fascismen var känd för att ha en patriarkal, traditionalistisk och reaktionär syn på kön och kvinnor. Men trots detta lyckades organisationen attrahera tidigare suffragetter. Så hur kunde de som tidigare kämpat för jämställdhet gå med i en rörelse som motsatte sig jämställdhet? Vilken syn hade BUF på kvinnan och kvinnorollen? För att svara på detta har jag studerat och analyserat ideologisk text skrivna av organisationens grundare och ledare Oswald Mosley samt andra fascistiska medlemmar. Jag har också använt mig av tillgänglig forskning från etablerade professorer och historiker för att nå en slutsats.   Resultatet visar att British Union of Fascists hade en mycket traditionalistisk och reaktionär syn på kvinnan och kvinnorollen. Svaghet betraktades och beskrivs som feminint och manlighet betraktades och beskrivs som styrka. BUF ansåg att kvinnan rent naturligt föredrog hemmet framför arbete och att moderskapet var kvinnans högsta kallelse i livet. Fascisterna betraktade kvinnors framgångar i kampen för jämställdhet som samhällets degeneration och förfall. Resultaten visar även att det fanns många faktorer som drev de tidigare suffragetterna till British Union of Fascists. Vilka faktorer som var avgörande beror på suffragetten i fråga. I min forskning har jag hittat tre exempel på tidigare suffragetter som gick med i BUF. Dessa var Norah Dacre Fox, Mary Sophia Allen och Mary Richardson. De faktorer som fick Norah Dacre Fox att ansluta sig till BUF var primärt möjligheten för sig och sin partner att få politiska karriärer. Fox hävdade att BUF var suffragettrörelsens arvtagare men jag har inte hittat några bevis för att detta var en primär faktor som fick henne att gå med i organisationen. De faktorer som fick Mary Sophia Allen att gå med i BUF var sannolikt krigsutbrottet 1939. Allen var sedan tidigare en beundrare av Adolf Hitler vilket troligtvis fick henne att motsätta sig ett krig mot dennes regim. Hon tjänstgjorde även under första världskriget och var troligtvis väl medveten om krigets fasor, något som kan ha bidragit till att hon motsatte sig ett nytt krig. De faktorer som fick Mary Richardson att gå med BUF var att hon ansåg att organisation och fascismen som ideologi var det enda som kunde rädda landet från stagnation. Richardson såg också mycket i BUF som påminde henne om suffragettrörelsen, och som en militant suffragett i sin ungdom kan BUFs militarism och paramilitära aktioner ha varit attraktiva. Det är därför troligt att de faktorer som fick Richardson att gå med i fascisterna var en kombination mellan att tro på dem som en politisk kraft såväl som deras militanta tillvägagångssätt. Richardson lämnade organisationen efter interna bråk och kom att anklaga organisationen för att i själva verket motarbeta kvinnors rättigheter. Strävan efter jämlikhet kan därför mycket väl ha varit en bidragande faktor till att hon anslöt sig till fascisterna, men jag har inte hittat några bevis som uttryckligen pekar på detta.
This essay revolves around the fascist organization British Union of Fascists (BUF) and their view on women and women’s role in society. It also examines former suffragettes who joined the organization, with the goal of establishing which factors contributed to them seeking membership in the organization.  Founded in 1932, the BUF was the largest and most prominent fascist group in the United Kingdom during the interwar period. Reaching its peak in the mid-1930s, the organization would become infamous for violent rallies and clashes with political opponents. The violent methods of the fascists would alienate them from mainstream British politics. And the organization would be condemned by both the British political establishment and British public after pleading their allegiance to Adolf Hitlers Nazi Germany. The British Union of Fascists would oppose the second world war, prompting the government to ban the organization and arresting numerous high-ranking members in 1940. Fascism was known for having a patriarchal, traditionalist and reactionary view on gender and women. But despite this fact, the organization managed to attract former suffragettes. So how come that those who fought for equality between the sexes would join a movement that opposed the same? How did British Union of Fascists view women and the female role?  To answer this, I have studied, and analysed ideological text written by the organizations founder and leader Oswald Mosley, alongside other fascist members. I have also used available research by established professors and historians to reach a valid conclusion.    The result shows that the British Union of Fascists had a highly traditional and reactionary view on women. Weakness was viewed and described as feminine, while masculinity was viewed and described as strength. The group regarded the home as women’s natural habitat, and childbirth as their highest calling in life. The fascists viewed women’s recent achievements in the struggle for equality as the degeneration and downfall of society.  The results also shows that there were numerous factors that drove the former suffragettes, each depending on the suffragette in question. In my research I have found three examples of former suffragettes who joined the BUF. These were Norah Dacre Fox, Mary Sophia Allen and Mary Richardson. The factors that made Norah Dacre Fox join the BUF was primarily the possibility of herself and her partner to gain political careers through the organization. Fox did argue that she viewed the BUF as successors to the suffragette movement, but I have not found any evidence that proves that this was a primary factor for her joining the BUF. The factors that made Mary Sophia Allen join the BUF were most likely the outbreak of the second world war. She was an admirer of Adolf Hitler which probably made her oppose a war against his regime. She also served during the first world war, something that might have contributed to her opposing a new war due the horrors of warfare. Mary Richardson joined the BUF because she believed that the organization and the ideology of fascism were needed to save to country from its downfall. Richardson also saw a lot in the BUF that remined her of the suffragette movement, and as a militant suffragette in her youth the BUFs militarism and paramilitary actions might have been attractive. It is therefore likely that the factors that made Richardson join the fascists were a combination between agreeing with their views on the degeneration of British society as well as their militant actions. Richardson did leave the organization after a falling-out with its leader, and she would accuse the group of working against women’s rights. The pursuit of equality might very well have been a contributing factor for joining, but I have not found any evidence that explicitly points to this.

Research into the British Union of Fascists (BUF) has treated antisemitism largely as an artificial addition to the party's programme, forced upon it by various circumstances. Scholars have thus focused almost exclusively on its causes and implications, rather than the antisemitism itself: the forms that it took, the ways in which it was expressed, and its relationship to the party's ideology. Through comprehensive analysis of the BUF's discourse, as well as of the discussions that took place within the party, this thesis reveals that anti-Jewish sentiment was, in fact, openly expressed at the very highest levels of the movement from the outset and, moreover, that it formed an integral and authentic aspect of its doctrine. This reflected its central position in the fascist philosophy of the BUF's founder and leader, Oswald Mosley, who was not, as is often argued, a reluctant antisemite. In fact, he played the principal role in the formulation and promulgation of this aspect of policy. More broadly, Mosley's antisemitism is shown to be indicative of ‘generic' fascism's exclusionary ultranationalism, which dictates intolerance of distinctive out-groups deemed incompatible with the fascist vision of a pure, homogenous society, and whose removal is regarded as a necessary prerequisite to bring about national rebirth. This did not, however, mean that the BUF's position on the Jewish question was at all imitative, and this study will demonstrate the extent to which it was founded upon longstanding native traditions of anti-Jewish thought. With regard to the second subject of this thesis, Jewish responses to the BUF, historical accounts have tended to focus only on the most visible forms of activity, and above all the type of confrontational anti-fascism that was favoured by many young, working-class Jews, particularly in London's East End. By exploring a much wider range of Jewish analyses and actions, this study presents a more nuanced and variegated picture. In doing so, it demonstrates that, rather than exacerbating divisions within Britain's heterogeneous Jewish community, the threat of fascism actually drew it closer together in its defence, bringing to the surface a shared sense of Anglo-Jewish identity. Finally, although revealing the breadth and effectiveness of Jewish opposition to British fascism, this study refutes the widely held notion that Jewish actions played any part in pushing the BUF and Mosley towards an antisemitic position.

Sir Oswald Mosley créa la British Union of Fascists à l'automne de l'année 1932, et publia en même temps The Greater Britain, ouvrage qui constitua le programme de son mouvement. Rapidement, la propagande de la BUF évolua vers un antisémitisme ouvert, qui pouvait sembler de prime abord constituer une rupture par rapport à son programme, dans la mesure où celui-ci ne désignait nullement les Juifs à la vindicte populaire. Or, cet hiatus chronologique ne fut pas une solution de continuité idéologique. Le premier but de cette étude est de mettre en évidence les origines thématiques, sub-structurelles et activistes de l'antisémitisme du mouvement, en se fondant essentiellement sur les implications de son caractère profondément fasciste et totalitaire. Le second but vise à dessiner une image diachronique et thématique de ce que fut l'antisémitisme de la BUF, en étudiant systématiquement ses deux hebdomadaires, Blackshirt et Action, ses pamphlets et les autres publications de son élite : l'attention exclusive portée aux écrits du mouvement permet d'éviter une approche explicative interactionniste, et la vision synthétique obtenue doit permettre de définir quelles furent la nature et les fonctions de l'antisémitisme dans son économie propagandiste. Pour l'antisémitisme comme pour le fascisme, les outils d'analyse utilisés ont été empruntés à l'anthropologie, à la sociologie, à la philosophie et à l'histoire des idées, et sont présentés dans une première partie
In late 1932, Sir Oswald Mosley launched the British Union of Fascists and published the political manifesto of his new movement, The Greater Britain. Soon afterwards, the BUF propaganda evolved towards anti-Semitism. The move is often considered as a complete break from what was explicitly stated in the movement manifesto, for such a feature as Jew-baiting was definitely absent from its pages. The first purpose of this study is to show that the chronological hiatus is in no way an ideological solution of continuity. The very nature of its ideology will be explored through a close reading of The Greater Britain to bring into relief the thematic, sub-structural et activist roots of the anti-Semitism of the movement. The second part of the study aims at focusing on the BUF propaganda literature, to break away from interactionist approaches, widen the scope of the functionalist explanations of the phenomenon and present a global, diachronic and thematic vision of its nature. The resources of anthropology, sociology, philosophy and political sciences have been extensively drawn upon and the theoretical bases of the analysis are expounded in the first part of the dissertation

Between World Wars I and II, allied forces girded themselves to quash yet another enemy bent on world conquest: fascism. In England, however, the British fascists set about to save what they saw as a dying empire. In an effort to restore Britain's greatness, British fascism held to fascist principles and doctrine to stem the flow of immigration, which fascists saw as darkening the pure British culture. While many of the British fascists strongly admired Nazi Germany's version of fascism, they were unique in that they forged their solutions from social ills that were distinctly British. British fascists were unabashedly anti-Semitic. They feared a Jewish threat to Britain's economy and culture and sought to counter it on every front. History, according to the British fascists, was rife with conspiracies which threatened the established "order of things." Unfortunately, their fears of conspiracy were so fantastic that their rationale was at times clouded and to their detriment. Foremost in the thinking of British fascists, Britain itself and all things British stood paramount to the exclusion of all else. Only an enormous resurgence of British nationalism would serve to regain Britain's proud heritage and future. Widely held principles of British fascism included direct representation in government for all occupations. All Britons would work in the interest of Britain, placing individual interests secondary to the whole of British culture. British fascism called for all Britons to actively involve themselves in the organic body of the British fascist state. Honor, duty, and loyalty would guide all Britons to a heightened sense of nationalism which would enable the individual to flourish within the fascist state. British fascism offered a sense of greatness to the British people. When all Britons embraced the nationalism of British fascism, pride of country, strength of family, honor of the individual, and the greatness of the British Empire all would be restored.
M.A.
Department of History
Arts and Sciences
History

This thesis provides an examination of the emergence and development of Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists in the Midlands between 1932 and 1940. It charts the fascist presence in four major cities: Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Coventry and Leicester. The BUF is the largest and most important fascist movement to have ever existed in Britain. Mosleyite fascism in the Midlands as a region has never before been investigated and represents a significant gap in the historiography of British fascist studies. Alongside affording valuable insight into Mosleyite fascism at the regional level, the study will illuminate further understanding of the BUF nationally. The fascist experience in the Midlands is used to test and contribute to arguments about the national movement in the secondary literature relating to three themes: (a) the social class composition of BUF membership; (b) the strength of BUF membership; and (c) the focus of BUF propaganda. Finally, four main areas generally recognised as the reasons for national failure are discussed to explain the long-term marginalisation of the BUF in the Midlands.

This thesis examines five key issues relating to the emergence and development of the British Union of Fascists in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex between 1933 and 1940. Firstly, it provides an analytical account of the B. U. F.'s involvement in the East Anglian `tithe war' during 1933-1934, which pays particular attention to fascist motivation, the extent of Blackshirt anti-tithe activism, and the various constraints limiting the impact of the Mosleyite interventionist strategy. Secondly, the B. U. F. 's anti-war policy and the government's implementation of Defence Regulation 18B (IA) are discussed in a regional context. Evidence from the three counties is used to give qualified endorsement to revisionist arguments, which maintain that the Blackshirt Peace Campaign boosted recruitment and attracted disaffected pro-appeasement middle class Tories. Reasons are also put forward to explain why the 18B round-up of B. U. F. adherents in eastern England proceeded in such an inconsistent manner. Thirdly, the size and social characteristics of the local Blackshirt support base are investigated. Approximate recruitment levels for active and non-active members in Norfolk, Suffolk and provincial Essex between 1934 and late 1938 are calculated, and detailed analysis of a sample of 230 Mosleyites from the area affords a valuable insight into the social class and occupational structure of the local movement. Fourthly, this thesis considers the protean nature of the B. U. F. 's appeal from both a `regional ' and `national' perspective by consulting the oral and written testimonies of 22 `East Anglian' and 75 other Blackshirt adherents. Finally, the various external and internal factors hampering the B. U. F. 's progress in the three counties are discussed within the framework of a conjunctural model of fascist political success. A number of key constraints, including unfavourable socio-economic conditions, a lack of `political space', internal deficiencies and state management of domestic fascism, marginalised the local Blackshirt movement.

While domestic fascism within the United Kingdom has never critically challenged Parliamentary sovereignty, it has decisively disrupted public order since its roots were established in the inter-war political scene. The violence provoked by Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF) was one of the stimulating factors behind the enactment of the Public Order Act 1936. This Act significantly strengthened the powers of the police to regulate or proscribe varies forms of political activism. This thesis analyses the legal responses of Parliament, the police and the judiciary to interwar British fascism. In addition, by analysing the legal responses to public disorder from before and after the 1930s, it positions the BUF within their wider historical context which enables this thesis to assess and evaluate consistencies and discrepancies within the application of the law. By enhancing the historical contextualisation of the period with a critical legal lens, the principal forms of fascist propaganda are evaluated, including public processions, public meetings and the wearing of political uniform. It is argued that the application of a historico-legal methodology challenges the perception that the authorities were inherently politically biased. This thesis explores alternative factors which explain why the responses of the legal authorities appeared inconsistent in their approach to the far-Right and the far-Left. In order to critically analyse the police’s decision making process when monitoring political activism, the limitations of public order law and the nature of police discretion itself become fundamental components which offer a more balanced explanation for the appearance of political partiality within the police force.

For a more complete understanding of the significance of fascism in inter-war Britain, it is important to consider the extent to which fascist views were an expression or extension of existing mainstream views. This thesis uses original research to examine how far the promotion of fascist views converged with mainstream opinion and identifies the issues on which British fascists went beyond the acceptable boundaries of mainstream society. Examining attitudes to antisemitism, refugees, the left, continental dictatorship and appeasement, culture, and, finally, the response of the mainstream press to the British Union of Fascists (BUF) and their reaction to what they perceived as a conspiracy against them, the thesis explores the possibility that there is a sufficient area of discursive overlap to locate British fascists within the mainstream. Significantly, comparison of the British fascist press and mainstream newspapers reveals that, while there were considerable areas of overlapping discourse, nonetheless, the underlying motivations of the fascists and the mainstream clearly differed. With one notable yet brief exception, the majority of the mainstream press regarded British fascists as belonging to the political margins and, increasingly, British fascism and the BUF in particular, defined itself in counter-cultural opposition to the mainstream.

The primary conclusion drawn by the thesis is that the political ideology of the BUF clearly exhibited a left-wing strand which is described as the BUF's brand of fascist 'socialism'. This strand (whilst a travestic and heretical form of socialism) considered the BUF to be more radical and virile than the Labour movement and, alone amongst political movements, capable of bringing about a national revolution which would contain a socio-economic reorientation of the country along classic socialist lines - an end to poverty, the building of houses and job creation - with Trade Unions taking a central role, within the framework of the Corporate State, in the industrial decision making process. It is not suggested that this strand was a self-contained concept within the BUF. The thesis has simply taken the heuristic step of grouping together these ideas in order to highlight the presence of an identifiable strand within the BUF's political ideology. The thesis supports the school of academic thought which believes that fascism must be taken seriously as a genuine political ideology if it is to be understood. Fascism is viewed as an eclectic political ideology containing a clear potential (although one not necessarily realised) to exhibit a strand of thought which was at base a fascistic revision of socialism. In regards to the methodology adopted by the thesis, the generic theories of fascism devised by Griffin, Sternhell, Eatwell and Payne, it was concluded that in tile context of this thesis all proved capable of predicting the potential inherent in fascist ideology to grow from left-wing roots and exhibit a brand of fascist 'socialism'. In terms of the theories' use as research tools it is Griffin's which stands out, due to its combination of profundity and lucidity, which gives his theory an operational simplicity, flexibility and heuristic quality.

This thesis is a sociological investigation into the relationship between sport, culture and national identity in the British Isles with specific reference to rugby union during the post-war period. This thesis is concerned with tracing the changing nature of rugby union and national identity politics over time. The relationship between rugby union and national identity is examined through a variety of primary and secondary source materials. The historical development of this relationship is explored with reference to the official archives of the four national rugby union associations that represent the constituent parts of the British Isles. This archival study is cross-referenced with a longitudinal analysis of reports published in The Times and various other secondary sources. The contemporary relationship between rugby union and national identity politics is researched by focusing on both the role of the media and the perceptions of players. A detailed analysis is undertaken of media re-presentation (by both electronic and print media) of the Rugby World Cup of 1995 held in South Africa. In addition, the views of players from all four `home' nations, regarding national identity, are established through a series of in-depth interviews and questionnaires. This study establishes the nature of the relationship between rugby union and national identity politics. It is significant both to the understanding of the role that rugby union plays in the British Isles but also for the study of sport and national identity more generally. In addition, the thesis casts light on the relationship between media sport and national identity politics.

This thesis is the first oral history study of English rugby union. Through personally conducted interviews, it focuses on the experiences of men who played rugby union for England in the post-war, amateur era, and considers what they can tell us about both the sport and the society of which it was a part. The period it covers begins with the end of the Second World War, in 1945, and ends when rugby union ceased to be an amateur sport, in 1995. These fifty years were a time of both change and continuity, and it is a primary concern of this thesis to consider the extent of each in both rugby union and in wider society. Through looking at, in particular, English rugby union’s links with education, its relationship with work in a period in which its players were amateur, and its place on the spectrum of class, this study demonstrates, above all, the durability of rugby union’s social core, even in the midst of outward change to the sport. In doing so, it makes an important contribution to the historiography of both British sport and post-war Britain more generally, arguing for consideration of social continuity among a field largely dominated by notions of change. It also constitutes a unique study of a particular group of middle-class men, and demonstrates that sport – and oral history – can add much to our understanding of post-war social history.

The thesis is concerned with the British perception of Soviet foreign policy between 1951 and 1956. In particular it examines the understanding that British diplomats, politicians and civil servants had of the process of change which the death of Stalin stimulated in the Kremlin's relations with the outside world. The core of the study centres around 1955, as this was the pivotal point for the British. With the ascendancy of Khruschev there was perceived not only a new emphasis in Moscow on the necessity of avoiding global war between East and West, but also a new interest in economic competition. By 1956 Whitehall had concluded that there were a number of factors informing the Soviet re-evaluation of foreign policy. Among which were: the stabilisation of the Western alliance culminating with West German rearmament in 1955; the cost of defence expenditure both in armaments and in supporting the satellite regimes and China; the development of American and Soviet thermonuclear potentials. The latter was thought by the British to be the most profound in its implications on the Soviet approach to the future of international relations. The Soviet leadership certainly appeared eager to be friendly and particularly to communicate an awareness of the grotesque futility of a war employing the latest weaponry. To this end they agreed to the Geneva Summit of 1955. Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan were convinced by this meeting that, in Macmillan's words, "there ain't gonna be no war". For a few brief, golden months, it seemed in London as if the Cold War might even be negotiated into history. However, by the end of 1955 it was apparent to the British that Geneva did not mean the Kremlin had given up aspirations to global supremacy, rather that the means to this end were now to be different.

This thesis is a study of the role of Scots and Scottish society in the politics of the Westminster Parliament and the British Union-state during the later Georgian period. Specifically, it analyses the lobbying activity of certain Scottish interests at Parliament and the central agencies of the British state in London during the period c.1760-c.1830. In doing so, this thesis is concerned with the developing efficacy of Scottish lobbies, as well as the extent to which they represented identifiably Scottish interests at Westminster and within the British Union-state over the course of this period. It aims to expand our understanding of how important elements within Scottish society gradually came to play an active role in the British political centre and argues that Scottish lobbying changed over this period from a position of nurturing and defending a separately constructed Scottish 'national' interest to becoming part of an integrated set of interests operating within a broader and more comprehensive British framework. This change was brought about by the need to represent Scottish interests more effectively within the British Union-state, particularly as the politics of Westminster became more important to certain parts of Scottish society from the 1780s onwards during the early industrial revolution. This process was, at times, uneven, and there was often tension between ongoing convergence and persistent distinction. Nevertheless, Scottish interests became more closely integrated within the British political system over the course of this period through their lobbying activities at the Westminster Parliament and of ministers in Whitehall. They increasingly operated more effectively as part of the British political and legislative process, and did so in ways which no longer presented them as separate or different in what was becoming a more authentically 'British' political culture.

British press opinion concerning the Soviet Union in the 1930s contributes to an understanding of the failed cooperation, prior to 1941, between the British and Soviet Governments. During the trial of six British engineers in Moscow in 1933, the conservative press jingoistically responded by demanding stringent economic action against the Soviet Union and possibly severing diplomatic cooperation. The liberal and labour press expected relations to improve to prevent similar trials of Britons in the future. Despite the strain in relations and ideological differences, between 1934 and 1935, Britain and the USSR worked for collective security. The quality conservative press was willing to support a closer relationship, though popular conservative newspapers remained anti-Soviet. The liberal and labour press, though hoping for more, expressed relief that Britain was improving relations with the Soviet Union. The Spanish Civil War led the conservative press to resume its non-collective beliefs and to become ideologically critical of the Soviet Union. The provincial conservative newspapers were the exceptions. Liberal and labour papers were annoyed with the British refusal to cooperate with the USSR over Spain and became disappointed by the Government's decision to support appeasement rather than collective action. While the British Government reviewed the benefits of collective security, the Moscow show trials damaged Britain's belief in the stability of the USSR. All papers realised there was something seriously wrong in the Soviet Union. The conservative press advocated avoiding cooperation with a country weakened by purging. The liberal and labour press, though concerned about the image of the USSR, realised that Britain required an East European ally and called for an improvement of existing relations. In 1939 nearly every newspaper demanded the British Government form an alliance with the USSR against Hitler's aggression and criticised both governments for wasting time. Condemnation of the Soviet Union's signing of the Nazi-Soviet pact and role in the partition of Poland was relatively limited as hope remained that Britain and the USSR would collaborate to defeat Hitler. However, the Winter War strained these hopes and led to intense press condemnation of the Soviet attack on Finland. Nevertheless, in July 1940 newspapers became interested in the emerging conflict of interests between Germany and the USSR. Despite criticism of Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, the press accepted that Britain's security depended on the Soviet Union. All newspapers welcomed the alliance in 1941 and ignored ideological issues.

During the third year of the Great War 1914-1918 Russia experienced the upheaval of revolution, precipitating the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and installation of the Provisional Government in March, and culminating in the Bolshevik takeover of November, 1917. Due to the political, military, and economic chaos which accompanied the revolution Russia was unable to continue the struggle on the eastern front. Russia was not fighting the war against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary alone, however, and her threat to capitulate was of the gravest concern to her Allies, Great Britain and France. In fact the disintegration of Russia's war effort was the pivotal issue around which Anglo-Russian relations revolved in 1917. Britain's war policy was dominated by the belief that the eastern front had to be maintained to achieve victory. It appeared that any interruption to the eastern front would allow Germany to reinforce her lines on the western front, then to win and control the economic destiny of Europe. Britain could not allow this to happen. This study focuses on the reportage from British diplomats and representatives in and outside of Russia to their superiors at the Foreign Office in London from December 1916 to December 1917. A vast wealth of documentation is available in the Foreign Office Correspondence. Analysis of these notes reveals certain trends which were dictated by the kaleidoscopic turn of events in Russia and the national ethos of these representatives. A minute analysis demonstrates a great diversity of opinion regarding the situation in Russia, ranging from optimism to pessimism and objectivity to prejudice in all phases of the year 1917. To a limited degree this diversity can be correlated with the geographical location and diplomatic status of the individual representatives. Above all it is clear that when historians quote from these sources, they choose the quotations which support the conclusions they have already reached because they know the outcome of the developments that they are describing. The individuals on the spot at the time were far less prescient and insightful. They were much more affected by their own historical prejudices and rumours, as well as the vagaries and short-term shifts of their immediate environment. Many of them believed in the great-man theory of history; a number attributed all developments and difficulties to some aspect of the Russian national character; some explained certain events during the year by conspiracies, especially of the Jews, with whom they tended to equate the Bolsheviks. Only a few were consistently solid and realistic in their appraisal of events, attributing them to factors favoured by our most respected historians.
Arts, Faculty of
History, Department of
Graduate

Thesis advisor: James Cronin
The Northern Ireland conflict has often been viewed as parochial, closed off from the currents of international opinion and foreign influence. Yet nationalists, unionists, and pacifists consistently recruited supporters and confronted their adversaries on an international stage. The relative success or failure of these groups within the Northern Ireland political system was based in large part on their ability to navigate the changing global context. This dissertation demonstrates that to understand the development of the conflict and that of the peace process, it is necessary to take a comprehensive look at the role of the international community. The conflict in Northern Ireland was fundamentally international from its inception in the late 1960s and grew increasingly so over the next thirty years. Many of the ideas that motivated the groups involved in the Northern Ireland conflict were global in nature and origin, as were the institutions and organizations that became important players in the conflict and its resolution. Given that international ideas, institutions, and organizations were so central in forming the contours of the conflict, the conflict must be analyzed within a framework of international history
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: History

This thesis is a study of the British intelligence assessments produced by the UK's Joint Intelligence Committee regarding the Soviet Union's nuclear capabilities and intentions. It examines the origins of such intelligence, the various organisations that collected, collated and analysed it and how it fed into the Joint Intelligence structure. The thesis seeks both to synthesise existing historical analysis and add new evidence on intelligence organisation, collection, analysis and dissemination by examining the development of such assessments over a twenty-five year period and considering how well they reflected and informed British governments about the status and progress of the Soviet nuclear threat. Lastly, it analyses how this intelligence fed into and may have affected wider British military and ministerial decision-making regarding the course of the UK's nuclear weapons policy between 1945 and 1970.

This thesis presents a participant's history of the development of the woodworkers' union in the Alberni Valley of British Columbia during the period 1935 to 1950. It is developed through Mosher's own accounts, which are treated as narratives, as the way of most effectively presenting his "insiders point of view". Mosher's interpretation, from his position as a logger, a local union leader, and a Communist Party member, adds to our understanding of the union movement by providing the perspective from the Left and information on the processes of unionization. In spite of the central position held by the union movement in the social structure of British Columbia, and the importance of the IWA within that movement, both have been under researched. Mosher's accounts are given in the context of the documentary history of the union movement and the IWA, and his narratives create a challenging interpretation in response to those established accounts. Comparisons are drawn between the interpretations of the same issues given by Mosher and by the documentary sources. Mosher's accounts express the themes and values important to his alternative history, such as the need for a union and the leadership role of the Communist Party in improving work conditions, which he claims has not before been acknowledged. This thesis is based on the assumption that there is no one true version of history. History is viewed as a process in which differing interpretations continually add to our overall understanding of a subject.
Arts, Faculty of
Anthropology, Department of
Graduate

The reclamation and analysis of women's experiences within three Nonconformist denominations is the focus of this thesis. The first chapter places each denomination in its social and theological context, and describes its governing structures. The bulk of the thesis is devoted to situating women within this context and examining the ways in which women sought representation within male-dominated governing structures. Chapter two examines the conflict between Friends' egalitarian theology and women's lack of governing power. Although women Friends gained access to the governing body of the Society, the issue of equality remained problematic. The chapter finishes with a discussion of the Society's split over women's suffrage. The Baptist Zenana Mission is the focus of the third chapter. Zenana missionaries claimed spiritual and imperial authority over "native" women and used the languages of separate spheres to carve out a vocation for single women in keeping with denominational norms. In so doing, they marginalised the work done by missionary wives. The fourth chapter begins with an examination of the life and theology of Catherine Booth, whose contribution to the Salvation Army is often neglected. Catherine advocated women's ministry in terms that validated both "women's work for women" and public preaching. This chapter looks at the appeal of officership for women, especially the empowering experiences of salvation and holiness, and charts the growth of the Women's Social Work. Despite the Army's egalitarian theology, conflict was felt by women officers who struggled to combine corps and family duties. The final chapter briefly examines idealised representations of women to conclude that their defining power, while significant, was by no means hegemonic.

At the launch of the research report 'Towards sustainable credit union development (Jones 1999) on 8th December 1998, the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies, Geoffrey Fitchew CMG, argued that not only had the report aroused strong interest in Westminster and Whitehall, but that it would "act as a significant catalyst" for change within the British credit union movement (Fitchew 1999). For despite the rapid expansion from the mid-1980s onwards of the number of credit unions established in low-income communities, by the end of the 1990s the growth in membership in these credit unions had stalled. Even with local government support and the commitment of local volunteers, most community credit unions, particular1y in England and Wales, were unable to attract more than a few hundred members. The result was that only four were recognised as self-sufficient and economically viable according to criteria utilised by the Birmingham Credit Union Development Agency at the time (Jones 1999, pp 24-25). In fact, it would not be inaccurate to say that many credit union activists assumed that community credit unions would always be small local organisations, staffed entirely by volunteers. Indeed, the fact that they only served a few hundred members was often seen as a strength, as it generated a strong sense of community identity and of security in the knowledge that the credit union was manageable at a local level. Yet, for others, the need for change was beginning to surface. They were increasingly concerned that credit unions were reaching only a small proportion of the people on low incomes or in poverty who had little or no choice but to use high-cost alternative financial providers. For them, credit unions were failing to realise the potential they had of making a significant contribution to the economic regeneration of communities. Yet, even for people who recognised the need to change, how credit unions might develop remained unclear and problematic. The importance of the 1999 report' was that it revealed, for the first time, the organisational and economic reality of the credit union movement, and indicated a way forward for the sector. It was for this reason that Fitchew described the report as a catalyst for change; for not only did it question the assumptions that underpinned the beliefs and actions of many credit union activists, it offered a plan of action to stimulate and enable the transformation of the movement Subsequently, the report was recognised by Government and the credit union sector as a whole as a key driver for credit union change and development (HM Treasury 1999, Local Government Association 1999, 2001; ABCUL2000, 2007; Donnelly 2004, McKillop and Wilson 2003; O'ConneIl2005; Goth, McKillop, and Ferguson 2006; CRC 2007; Collard 2007). The report was the original, seminal work which formed a theoretical grounding for all the author's subsequent research and research publications.

The aim of this thesis is to enhance our understanding of Swedish marine insurers' choices of business strategies under the potentially difficult business circumstances of the interwar period 1918-1939. Little previous research exists on marine insurance during the interwar period. This is remarkable in the Swedish context since the Swedish economy has traditionally depended on its exports. The focus on Sweden is justified since the Swedish insurance market saw regulatory stability during the interwar period. It was also characterised by the coexistence of stock and mutual insurers, allowing this thesis to contribute with insights on potentially problematic insurance cartelisaton. This thesis employs a mixed methods design, including qualitative methods and regression analysis. To interpret results, this thesis employs insurance risk theory, cartel theory, theories on reinsurance and risk diversification, and agency theory. By employing this combination of theories, it is possible to explain choices and outcomes of adopted strategies both with reference to particularities of marine insurance and with reference to particularities of the two different organisational forms. The results show that the insurers conceived several new characteristics of their business environment as challenges and implemented both cartel strategies and company-specific strategies of risk diversification. Among the challenges were rapid inflation, rapidly decreasing prices and business volumes in shipping and trade, the introduction of motor ships, and the existence of naval mines on many trade routes. Also, exchange-rate fluctuations were considered to cause losses on established marine insurance contracts and rendered business results uncertain. Swedish insurers adopted cartel strategies from 1918 through The Swedish Association of Marine Underwriters (Sjöassuradörernas Förening) since they had anticipated a post-war crisis. Market division agreements were adopted for the most attractive market segments, but eventually price agreements became the primary cartel strategy, supported by prohibitions of competition. The work on price agreements sometimes increased the market efficiency since it reduced uncertainty, for instance in insurance of cargo with motor ships. Few price agreements were however adopted for the insurance of shipping since that market segment was dominated by mutual insurers, highlighting the difficulties of cartelisation in insurance markets inhabited by both stock and mutual insurers. The cartel further adopted reinsurance agreements to create barriers to entry in the Swedish marine insurance market. It however experienced prominent difficulties to implement the cartel strategies. One prominent difficulty of implementation was cheating. Also international competition created difficulties. The cartel companies therefore engaged in international cartelisation through The International Union of Marine Insurance (Internationaler Tranport-Versicherungs-Verband) from the late 1920s. This international cartel sought to reduce international competition by agreements not to compete in foreign markets. It also sought to manage the exchange-rate fluctuations of the early 1920s and the early 1930s by agreements among marine insurers, but it failed to obtain sufficient support. In spite of cartelisation, the returns on marine insurance were pushed down by the recognized challenges during the early 1920s, inflicting losses. The business however recovered and remained profitable throughout the 1930s, showing that the great depression was not as great as the deflation crisis in marine insurance. Exchange-rate fluctuations affected the international competitive strength of both stock and mutual insurers and additionally influenced the stock insurers' returns on established marine insurance contracts. The insurers were however compensated for the poor marine business results of the early 1920s by greater reliance than previously on reinsurers and by diversification among insurance lines, which rendered profits less negative than the returns on marine insurance. The business ceded to reinsurers on average inflicted losses during each of the first seven years of the 1920s. These losses were indirectly caused by World War I since that war had caused the establishment of new reinsurers in different countries, not the least in Scandinavia, and in turn caused over capacity during the 1920s. New contractual formulations evolved internationally to the benefit of ceding insurers, indicating information asymmetries. Exits became frequent among reinsurers. In effect, into the 1930s, ceding insurers internationally found it difficult to obtain obligatory reinsurance treaties. During the early 1920s, the Swedish stock marine insurers also increasingly diversified their insurance businesses among insurance lines. This process had been catalysed by World War I, was accelerated during the 1920s, and continued into the 1930s.
Syftet med denna avhandling är att förståeliggöra svenska marinförsäkringsbolags val av affärsstrategier under mellankrigstiden 1918-1939, en period som kännetecknades av potentiellt svåra affärsförhållanden. Försäkringsverksamhet är känslig för ekonomiska kriser, men har uppmärksammats mindre än bankverksamhet när det gäller mellankrigstiden. Inte minst marinförsäkring är känslig för ekonomiska kriser eftersom de försäkrade verksamheterna, sjöfart och handel, endast förekommer i den mån som transporterade varor efterfrågas. Tidigare forskning har endast i liten omfattning fokuserat på marinförsäkring, vilket ur ett svenskt perspektiv kan tyckas anmärkningsvärt med tanke på att den svenska ekonomin har i hög grad varit beroende av sjöburen handel. En studie av svensk marinförsäkring är motiverad ur ett internationellt perspektiv eftersom den svenska försäkringslagstiftningen förblev i stort sett oförändrad under perioden, vilket gör det rimligt att tolka marinförsäkringsbolags val av affärsstrategier som svar på ekonomiska omständigheter. Under mellankrigstiden var katellstrategier ett vanligt svar på svåra affärsförhållanden i olika verksamheter, men kartellisering var potentiellt problematisk i marinförsäkring eftersom den verksamheten är internationell och eftersom marinförsäkring är en heterogen produkt. Dessutom befolkades den svenska försäkringsmarknaden av både aktiebolag och ömsesidiga bolag, vilket är ett ytterligare potentiellt hinder för kartellisering. Studier av kartellisering under potentiallt svåra förutsättningar kan bidra med insikter om under vilka förutsättningar karteller uppstår, vilket ytterligare motiverar studien. Denna avhandling analyserar även två företagsspecifika riskdiversifieringsstrategier, som potentiellt kan kompensera för låg avkastning på mottagen försäkring, nämligen återförsäkring och diversifiering mellan försäkringsgrenar. Återförsäkring har av tidigare forskning framhållits som ett underutforskat område. Avhandlingen tillämpar både kvalitativa och kvantitativa undersökningsmetoder. För att uttolka de empiriska resultaten tillämpas riskteori för försäkring, kartellteori, återförsäkringsteori, riskdiversifieringsteori, samt incitamentsteori på företagsnivå (agency theory). Denna kombination av teorier gör det möjligt att förklara strategival med utgångspunkt både i marinförsäkringens karaktäristika och i de båda olika organisationsformers karaktäristika. Resultaten visar att försäkringsbolagen noterade ett antal nya affärsförhållanden som utmaningar och att dessa bolag implementerade både kartellstrategier och företagsspecifika riskdiversifieringsstrategier. Bland de noterade utmaningarna märks snabb inflation, snabbt fallande priser och affärsvolymer i sjöfart och handel, införandet av motorfartyg, samt sjöminor på många fartygsrutter. Försäkringsbolagen behärskade endast lite erfarenhet av risker associerade med motorfartyg och sjöminor, vilket gjorde riskbedömningar osäkra. Även växelkursfluktuationer uppfattades som utmaningar eftersom de orsakade förluster på etablerade marinförsäkringskontrakt och skapade problem att förutsäga affärsresultaten. Från 1918 antog svenska marinförsäkringsbolag kartellstrategier genom branschorganisationen Sjöassuradörernas Förening, detta eftersom de förväntade sig en efterkrigskris. Marknadsuppdelningsavtal infördes i attraktiva marknadssegment, men med tiden blev prisöverenskommelser den främsta kartellstrategin, understödd av avtal som förbjöd konkurrens. Arbetet med prisöverenskommelser ökade marknadseffektiviteten i vissa marknadssegment, detta genom att reducera osäkerheten i riskbedömningarna. Ett tydligt exempel på ett sådant marknadssegment är försäkring av varor transporterade med motorfartyg. Kartellen etablerade däremot få prisöverenskommelser för försäkring av sjöfart eftersom detta marknadssegment dominerades av ömsesidiga försäkringsbolag. Denna kontrast mellan varuförsäkring och sjöfartsförsäkring belyser svårigheterna med att kartellisera en försäkringsmarknad som befolkas både av aktiebolag och av ömsesidiga bolag. Kartellen antog också återförsäkringsavtal i syfte att skapa etableringshinder på den svenska försäkringsmarknaden. Den upplevde emellertid svårigheter att implementera överenskommelserna, såsom brott mot prisöverenskommelserna och mot konkurrensförbuden. Ytterligare svårigheter skapades av internationell konkurrens. Från slutet av 1920-talet deltog därför kartellbolagen i den internationella marinförsäkringskartellen Internationaler Tranport-Versicherungs-Verband (senare benämnd The International Union of Marine Insurance). Medlemsbolagen i denna internationella kartell skapade överenskommelser med innebörden att utländska försäkringstagare inte skulle erbjudas försäkring. Dessa överenskommelser syftade till att reducera den internationella konkurrensen. Denna kartell försökte också reducera effekterna för marinförsäkringsbolag av växelkursfluktuationer genom överenskommelser om hur växelkurser skulle beräknas i marinförsäkringsfrågor. Sådana försök gjordes både under de första åren av 1920-talet och under de första åren av 1930-talet. Det avsedda resultatet kunde emellertid inte nås, detta eftersom uppslutningen förblev otillräcklig. Trots kartelliseringen reducerades avkastningen på marinförsäkring till förlustnivåer under det tidiga 1920-talet. Avkastningen förbättrades sedan stegvis och förblev positiv under 1930-talet. I marinförsäkring var alltså den stora depression inte lika stor som deflationskrisen. Växelkursfluktuationer påverkade både aktiebolags och ömsesidiga bolags internationella konkurrenskraft. Dessutom påverkade växelkurserna aktiebolagens avkastning på etablerade marinförsäkringskontrakt. Försäkringsbolagen kompenserades för 1920-talets förlustresultat i marinförsäkring genom ökad cedering av risk till återförsäkringsbolag och genom diversifiering av de mottagna riskerna mellan olika försäkringsgrenar. Under 1920-talet var bolagens vinster därför mindre negativa än resultaten i marinförsäkring. Den affär som cederades till återförsäkringsbolag var i genomsnitt förlustbringande under vart och ett av 1920-talets första sju år. Dessa förluster orsakades indirekt av första världskriget, eftersom det kriget stimulerade etablering av nya återförsäkringsbolag, detta i olika länder och inte minst i Skandinavien. I förlängningen skapade första världskriget därmed överkapacitet på återförsäkringsmarknaden. Nya kontraktsformuleringar introducerades internationellt till de cederande bolagens fördel. Detta förhållande indikerar informationsasymmetrier i relationen mellan cederande och mottagande försäkringsbolag. Många återförsäkringsbolag lämnade marknaden. Resultatet blev att cederande bolag under början av 1930-talet i olika länder fick svårigheter att sluta obligatoriska återförsäkringsavtal. Under början av 1920-talet diversifierade aktiebolagen också sin verksamhet mellan olika försäkringsgrenar. Denna process katalyserades av första världskriget, accelererade under början av 1920-talet och fortsatte in på 1930-talet.

Disertační práce: Propaganda Britské unie fašistů Mgr. Jakub Drábik Ústav světových dějin Abstract The dissertation deals with the propaganda of the largest and only relevant British fascist party, the British Union of Fascists, founded in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley. The aim of the dissertation is to look at the BUF propaganda in the light of the "new consensus" that has emerged in fascist studies in recent years. Based on the official BUF party press, publications, pamphlets, propaganda posters, speeches and public appearances of the movement's leading figures and other forms of propaganda, this work analyses the propaganda of the BUF not just in the terms of crude "brainwashing" or "social control," but also as a form of social engineering - in other words, as a serious attempt to realize the ideas of an alternative modernity and of a political, economic, social and cultural revolution. In spite of widely held view that the BUF was only a group of crude anti-Semites, thugs, bullies or even opportunists with materialistic goals, this work argues that the "propagation of faith" or "the dissemination of political beliefs" was one of the motives of BUF propagandists.

This thesis examines the beginning of Victoria, British Columbia’s, women’s movement, stretching its ‘start’ date to the late 1850s while arguing that, to some extent, the local movement criss-crossed racial, ethnic, religious, and gender boundaries. It also highlights how the people involved with the women’s movement in Victoria challenged traditional beliefs, like separate sphere ideology, about women’s position in society and contributed to the introduction of new more egalitarian views of women in a process that continues to the present day. Chapter One challenges current understandings of First Wave Feminism, stretching its limitations regarding time and persons involved with social reform and women’s rights goals, while showing that the issue of ‘suffrage’ alone did not make a ‘women’s movement’. Chapter 2 focuses on how the local ‘women’s movement’ coalesced and expanded in the late 1890s to embrace various social reform causes and demands for women’s rights and recognition, it reflected a unique spirit that emanated from Victorian traditionalism, skewed gender ratios, and a frontier mentality. Chapter 3 argues that an examination of Victoria’s movement, like any other ‘women’s movement’, must take into consideration the ethnic and racialized ‘other’, in this thesis the Indigenous, African Canadian, and Chinese. The Conclusion discusses areas for future research, deeper research questions, and raises the question about whether the women’s movement in Victoria was successful.
Graduate
0334
0733
0631
mlihmels@shaw.ca

This paper provides an account of early Japanese immigration to Canada in the years between 1877 and 1908 from the point of view of the Japanese Imperial government of the time. Drawing on Japanese diplomatic correspondence uncovered by Toshiji Sasaki in his 1999 work "Nihon-jin Kanada imin-shi" and accounts from Japanese-language newspapers published in Vancouver during the period, I examine the Japanese experience in Canada and describe how Japanese officials and emigrants responded to Canadian efforts to restrict Japanese emigration to Canada, culminating in the Vancouver Riot of 1907. I show how, when faced with this diplomatic crisis, Japanese officials reacted only reluctantly and, for the most part, ineffectually to limit emigration to Canada. The result of such restrictions as ultimately were imposed on the emigration of Japanese workers was not the end of Japanese emigration but the beginning of permanent settlement by Japanese families in Canada.