The Thatcher government's response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979–1980

Abstract

The extent to which the Thatcher government supported the Carter administration in forcefully responding to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is disputed by a number of historians. Whilst some regard London's response as rhetorical at best, others believe it to have been a concrete demonstration of Prime Minister Thatcher's loyalty to the United States in its longstanding struggle against the Soviet Union. This article offers a more nuanced position that distinguishes between the degree of economic and diplomatic support the British government provided to Carter. Thatcher's diplomatic rejoinder to Soviet aggression over the course of 1980 was fierce, as evidenced by her strong stand on the Olympic boycott. However, Britain's precarious economic situation at the time of the invasion led the British government to provide only tepid backing to Carter in his attempt to punish Moscow through economic sanctions.