Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Re-thinking the Labour party's approach to foreign policy, 1900–1924
- 2 Labour and international affairs before the first World War
- 3 Labour and the outbreak of war, August–October 1914
- 4 Thinking about international affairs, 1914–1918
- 5 The politics of the 1917 memorandum on war aims
- 6 Labour and the peace, 1918–1921
- 7 The co-ordination of Labour's approach to foreign affairs, 1921
- 8 Labour and European reconstruction, 1921–1924
- 9 Labour and European security, 1921–1924
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Re-thinking the Labour party's approach to foreign policy, 1900–1924
- 2 Labour and international affairs before the first World War
- 3 Labour and the outbreak of war, August–October 1914
- 4 Thinking about international affairs, 1914–1918
- 5 The politics of the 1917 memorandum on war aims
- 6 Labour and the peace, 1918–1921
- 7 The co-ordination of Labour's approach to foreign affairs, 1921
- 8 Labour and European reconstruction, 1921–1924
- 9 Labour and European security, 1921–1924
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This study has involved a detailed investigation of the development of the Labour party's foreign policy between its formation and the end of its first period in government. It has explored the development and interaction of progressive ideas on foreign policy in this period and shown how these ideas fared in the Labour party. It has not been assumed that Labour was doctrinally united, nor that policy proposals were the result of a straightforward translation of ideas, be they socialist, radical or liberal, into a programme. Rather, the ideological divisions that existed within the Labour party have been delineated, and policy development has been regarded as a process that takes place in – and is informed by – a political and institutional context. Thus policy, as well as serving a programmatic function, can also play a part in maintaining or building up a party's coalition of support. for this reason, analysing policy development must involve consideration of the distribution of power in the party's policy-making process.
Politics and ideology in the development of a Labour party foreign policy, 1900–24
Past misinterpretations of developments in Labour's foreign policy have occurred for two main reasons. First, the richness of the ideological debate on foreign affairs has been underestimated. Only on the basis of a detailed elucidation of the ideas and policy proposals of the most influential groups and individuals associated with the strands of progressive thought identified in this work is it possible to make a proper assessment of the ideological influences on the Labour party at this time.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Labour Party and the Politics of War and Peace, 1900–1924 , pp. 186 - 200Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2009