British Policy Research Articles

The Interconnectedness of British and Australian Immigration Controls in the 20th Century: between Convergence and Divergence1

The histories of immigration control in Britain and Australia in the twentieth century are often contrasted, with Britain imposing few formal restrictions on Commonwealth migration until the 1960s and Australia slowly weakening the ‘White Australia Policy’ throughout the post-war period. However as much as there is a divergence between the two immigration control systems, we argue that there is also a high level of interconnectedness between the British and Australian efforts to control migration across the century. In particular, policymakers in Britain looked to replicate aspects of Australia’s strict control system, while many politicians in Australia saw British immigration policy as a warning to the immigration reform. By the end of the century, both countries had established strict border control systems that converged with similar systems across Western Europe and North America.

Partitioning Palestine: British Policy Making at the End of the Empire By Penny Sinanoglou

<i>Partitioning Palestine: British Policy Making at the End of the Empire</i> By <scp>Penny Sinanoglou</scp>

Evolution of British policy in Egypt after the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 (August 1936–April 1938)

The object of the study is the policy of Great Britain in Egypt from August 1936 to April 1938. The subject of the study is the trends in the policy of the Foreign Office and local British authorities in relation to Egypt in the context of external and internal challenges. The main attention is paid to the situation that developed after the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The study examines the British responses in connection with Italy's aggressive policy in the region, as well as during the "palace crisis" in Egypt, which developed as a result of the death of King Fuad and the transition of the throne to Farouk. These events threatened the British presence in the region, for which the empire had been fighting with various forces since the mid-1930s. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the involvement of new sources – namely the diaries of the British High Commissioner Miles Lampson. It is noted that the trend in UK politics continues to soften the style of government and avoid harsh and radical decisions. In particular, antagonism with Italy is being resolved by diplomatic means, which resulted in the signing of the Anglo-Italian treaty in April 1938. As for the domestic political situation, the "palace crisis" can also be overcome by soft means by creating a balance of power positive for the British presence in the Egyptian political system, as well as through negotiations with anti-British forces.

The economist and the secret agent. Strategies to introduce the British model of society into Sicily of 1812.1

The paper explores the events which determined the transition of Sicily from the ancien regime towards a modern liberal society. The key figures selected to understand this historical moment are the economist Paolo Balsamo, professor at Regia Università di Palermo, and the Scottish gentleman Gould Francis Leckie, whose profile as landowner and scholar concealed his intelligence activity in Sicily. This essay shows how British policy and Sicilian ruling class conceived a plan to transform the island by importing a model of capitalist society from the United Kingdom and entrusted it to the cultural and political role exercised by Balsamo.

LAWRENCE’IN 27 MADDELİK RAPORU BAĞLAMINDA ORTADOĞU’DA İNGİLİZ SİYASETİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Birleşik Krallık, 20. Yüzyıl başlarında Osmanlı Devleti egemenliğinde bulunan Arap bölgelerinde yıkıcı faaliyetler yürütmüştür. Dağılma sürecinde olan Osmanlı Devleti’nin çok önem verdiği Hicaz bölgesi, İngilizler’in tertibiyle başlayan planlı bir Arap ayaklanması sonucu kaybedilmiştir. Osmanlı Devleti, ayaklanma faaliyetleri öncesinde gerekli aksiyonu gösteremediği gibi ayaklanmayı da bastıramamıştır.Bu çalışmada İngilizler’in Arap ayaklanmasını örgütlemek için ne gibi faaliyetler yürüttüğü, faaliyetlerinde hangi yöntemleri kullandıkları ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu amaçla, Lawrence’ın Arap Bulletin’de yayınlanan 20 Ağustos 1917 tarihli “Twenty-Seven Articles” makalesi irdelenmektedir. Lawrence’ın bir yönerge niteliğinde kaleme alıp, Arap ayaklanmasını örgütleyen ve bölgede çalışmalar yürüten askeri ve istihbarat uzmanlarına söz konusu yazıyla verdiği tavsiyeler derlenip yorumlanmıştır. Makalemizde, Arap ayaklanmasına zemin oluşturan bu faaliyetler, Arap Ulusçuluğu ve İngiliz Koloniciliği çerçevesinde değerlendirilmektedir.

Insight: The Interpretation of Islam within the Legal Framework of the Indigenous Malaya

This article promotes Islam's interpretation within the legal framework of the indigenous Malayan based on its principle of sovereignty. At present, Islam is popularly defined by the Court's decision in Che Omar Che Soh vs Public Prosecutor, where the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers was made as a parameter in interpreting Islam within the context of Article 3 of the Federal Constitution. The said decision confines Islam only in the context of personal laws due to the Pangkor Treaty, 1874. This is a qualitative study applying the legal history design. The findings showed that the indigenous sovereignty sourced from the Islamic teachings had not been affected despite the introduction of the doctrine of advice and various British policies throughout their intervention in Malaya. In fact, many agreements made between the Malay Rulers and the British retained the indigenous sovereignty as those agreements were subjected to the old Malayan Constitution, the principle of Islam as the law of the land as well as contemporary local thinking. The above three local circumstances explained the principle of sovereignty, thus the position of Islam in the indigenous Malaya's legal framework. This article concludes that the accurate interpretation of Islam should be based on the al-Qur'an and al-Sunnah because the Malay Rulers have retained their position as caliph even after the British intervened in their internal state affairs.

INSIGHTS: THE INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE INDIGENOUS MALAYA

This article promotes Islam's interpretation within the legal framework of the indigenous Malayan based on its principle of sovereignty. At present, Islam is popularly defined by the Court's decision in Che Omar Che Soh vs Public Prosecutor, where the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers was made as a parameter in interpreting Islam within the context of Article 3 of the Federal Constitution. The said decision confines Islam only in the context of personal laws due to the Pangkor Treaty, 1874. This is a qualitative study applying the legal history design. The findings showed that the indigenous sovereignty sourced from the Islamic teachings had not been affected despite the introduction of doctrine of advice and various British policies throughout their intervention in Malaya. In fact, many agreements made between the Malay Rulers and the British retained the indigenous sovereignty as those agreements were subjected to the old Malayan Constitution, the principle of Islam as the law of the land as well as the contemporary local thinking. The above three local circumstances explained the principle of sovereignty, thus the position of Islam in the indigenous Malaya's legal framework. This article concludes that the accurate interpretation of Islam should be based on the al-Qur'an and al-Sunnah because the Malay Rulers have retained their position as a caliph even after the British intervened in their internal state affairs.

Britain and Hong Kong: the 2019 protests and their aftermath

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine British policy towards Hong Kong from the protests of 2019 through political controversies in 2020.Design/methodology/approachThe paper offers a foreign policy analysis based on a chronological account of the public interventions made by London from April 2019 to the passage of the national security law in the middle of 2020. It discusses the factors which contributed to the UK's positions and looks in more detail at an issue which relates to the British colonial legacy: the status of British National (Overseas) passport holders.FindingsThe paper argues that the UK's policy was influenced by a combination of factors: developments in Hong Kong, the implications of and perceptions about its historical position as the former colonial power, the growing influence of lobby groups in the UK and Hong Kong (especially in agenda setting), and (to a lesser extent) the UK's wider relations with China. In trying to balance these, British policy tended to be reactive rather than strategic. London generally took positions sympathetic to the protest movement and political opposition, characterised in the paper as “soft partisanship”, shifting to clear opposition to Beijing's approach when the National Security Law was announced.Social implicationsThe paper helps to understand international policy towards Hong Kong.Originality/valueThe paper offers the first account of British policy towards Hong Kong during this period and adds to the limited existing literature on the UK's Hong Kong policy over recent years. This case study sheds light on wider questions of international perceptions of developments in Hong Kong during a tumultuous period in the city's history and informs broader studies of foreign policymaking.

Disability and Welfare under Monopoly Capitalism

A historical-materialist analysis of the relationship between disability, the body, welfare, and capitalism is needed in order to further develop a Marxist understanding of disability. In this framework, we can see how the British welfare state, given recent changes to British disability policy, determines who is able-bodied and who is disabled, with this evaluation made in regard to the needs of monopoly capitalism.

Between the battles of Tel Hai and Samakh: Britain’s security policy in north-east Palestine in the Spring of 1920

ABSTRACT This article considers the British response to the Tel Hai affair, within the wider setting of British security policy in north-east Palestine. It sheds light on lesser-known aspects of British policy in the period such as the extensive use of Indian forces, the development of the region’s transport infrastructure, and the British military administration’s general concern about the threat of an Arab invasion across the Jordan river basin. Turning attention to the largely forgotten battle between British and Arab forces at Samakh in late April 1920, the article argues that this was the decisive military engagement of the period in Palestine.

Cultural diplomacy, Church politics, and nationalism in early mandatory Palestine: the case of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church

ABSTRACT The transition period from the Ottoman withdrawal from Jerusalem to the establishment of British rule was critical for the Orthodox Church. On the one hand, the rule of Patriarch Damianos was contested by a powerful opposition within the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which was supported by the government in Athens. On the other hand, the Arab laity sided with Damianos, putting at the same time pressure on the new administration to upgrade its status both at a political and religious level. This paper attempts to contextually sketch out the historical course of events, paying special attention on the religious policy agenda of the new authorities, as well as the diplomatic and cultural factors influencing the decision-making process. Overall, the paper suggests that the internal church crisis under examination was determined by the historical reformulation caused by WWI, the development of Arab nationalism, national ambitions in Athens, and British local and diplomatic policy objectives. Moreover, it argues that this period of crisis should probably be viewed as the starting point of the modern history of the institution (This article extends and updates the analysis of my previous paper, Papastathis 2009 (in Greek). In particular, it employs and contextually analyses new archival sources from the Historic and Diplomatic Archive of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The new archival material is related to the intra-religious background and institutional framework, and to the diplomatic and political aspects of the question under examination).

Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 as an Instrument of the British Foreign Policy. Preparation, Conclusion, Results

In the article, the author explores the preparation for the conclusion of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 in the context of internal and external factors affecting the British in Egypt. This agreement was investigated by Russian and foreign historians, but the author analyzes this problem in the context of the challenges which became threats to the British presence in Egypt. Egyptian internal affairs are considered as the first factor: in the mid–1930s the anti-British forces became much more active, and British presence in the region was endangered. The international relations in the Eastern Mediterranean which also influenced the positions of Great Britain are explored as an external factor. Particularly, the author pays attention to the aggressive foreign policy of Mussolini’s Italy which included the conquest of Ethiopia and forming of a potential threat to the British presence in Egypt. The author explores the British policy in the country and the reasons for the conclusion of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty from the perspective of these challenges. He also analyzes negotiations between Great Britain and Egypt. The author investigates some of the individual points of the Treaty and benefits which the Foreign Office gained from it. In the article, the author concludes that the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 is a significant diplomatic victory for Great Britain. Egypt acquired some elements of political autonomy, while the British could strengthen their presence in the region. Considering the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in a broader historical perspective, the author concludes that the British policy in Egypt takes on the features of neocolonialism.

British Policy towards the French Occupation of Algeria in 1830

This article discusses a short but important era in colonial history between Britain and France in the first half of the nineteenth century. It mainly concerns Britain’s policy towards the intentions and objectives of France, which announced its desire to mount a military campaign against Algeria (Regency of Algiers), and Britain’s concern about the ambiguity of the objectives of the campaign, which was exposed by the campaign leader and the French press. It also discusses the developments that occurred in both countries and the repercussions of the actions that resulted in the consolidation of the French occupation of Algeria in 1830.

A little microbe that markets cannot help with

This essay discusses the British Government's policy for testing and tracing corona virus cases, as it evolved in England during 2020. A new centralised national system was created to be implemente...

Ukraine in light of British foreign policy interests

Ukraine in light of British foreign policy interests

Evaluate the importance of the board of directors to the corporate governance of large listed UK firms

People sometimes question the centrality of the board of directors as the British governance reform policy debate, because the daily impact of the board is hard to be perceived. However, when things go wrong, they become the focus of attention (Adams et al, 2010). Agency theorists believe that the board has two main functions: decision management and decision control (Amama & Grzegorz, 2014). The UK Code (Financial Reporting Council, 2014, p. 1) reflects the difference, pointing out that "corporate governance is the processes and a combination by which companies are directed and controlled" and "the board of directors is responsible for corporate governance". This paper will start from two major aspects of corporate internal governance and external governance, and evaluate the importance of the board of directors in agency relationship, independence and supervision, and crisis respectively, so as to illustrate that the important role of the board of directors in comprehensive corporate governance is inevitable and crucial, and the core position of the board of directors in the corporate governance mechanism.

ОЦЕНКА АНГЛО-ЯПОНСКОГО ДОГОВОРА 1902 Г. БРИТАНСКОЙ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ЭЛИТОЙ И ПРЕССОЙ

This study aims to investigate the public perception of the structural changes in British foreign policy at the beginning of the XX century. The authors focus on assessments of the British political circles, primarily the liberal-imperialists – the right wing of the Liberal Party. The article analyses the content and prospects of the Anglo-Japanese agreement. Particular emphasis is placed on the study of publications containing assessments of the foreign policy of the United Kingdom in the central as well as provincial print media. It should be stressed that the British political circles discorded with on the country's foreign policy course - the ruling Conservative party approved the conclusion of the treaty, but the opposition liberal party unequivocally assessed the agreement of 1902. The right-wing liberals, in contrast to the center and the left wing of the Liberal Party, were less skeptical about this Anglo-Japanese alliance. Finally, the au-thors draw conclusions that the press as a whole was ambivalent about the agreement of 1902.

‘Othering’ Adivasi Identities

Focusing on the indigenous Bhil community in central India, this paper examines the role of British colonial policies in paving the way for ‘tribal identity’ formation and, how postcoloniality, or the postcolonial condition, is continuing to shape this identity. I interrogate the power of the colonial and contemporary government to categorize, and how such categories persist in the consciousness of the Indian government, mainstream communities, and more significantly, among indigenous communities themselves. Modernizing and developing the Bhil (among other indigenous communities) has been a national goal for the nation-state since independence. According to Indian development policies, building an agrarian community that is self-sufficient and empowered is in the best interest of the nation and its economic growth. I argue that far from portraying a unified national identity to demonstrate modernity and progress to the world, Indian policies have instead created politicized identities, which serve to perpetuate stereotypes and contain their subjects in exploitative cycles of debt, dependency, and development.

From "Honeymoon Period" to "Stable Marriage": The Rise of Management Consultants in British Health Policymaking.

Since the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, different groups of experts have competed to inform the development of British health policy. This article analyzes the long-term rise of one of these groups-management consultants. The scale and regularity of their engagement has increased considerably over time, strikingly in recent years, and the functions fulfilled by consultants have become ever more diverse. At important moments they were often seen by policymakers-particularly when there was understood to be a lack of internal expertise-as possessors and imparters of important knowledge. Firms and individuals worked consciously to integrate themselves into emerging health policy networks. But there has often been relatively little consideration of their real suitability for work in the health field. Many debates around the use of external consultants today-accountability, value for money, dependency-were foreshadowed during earlier periods, with implications for current policymakers.

После Брекзита: к обновлению глобальной роли Британии

In the middle of March, 2021, the UK prime minister presented to Parliament the integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy of Britain. The vision it pictures amounts to the final renunciation of the famous Churchill’s three circles doctrine. To better explain this thoroughgoing paradigmatic change, it might be useful to consider the meanings assigned of it by those immediately involved. In this article, it is argued that Brexit was in no small part the result of the UK being unable to turn round the development of the regional integration process on the European continent in directions, corresponding to British preference. With the withdrawal of the country from the EU having been accomplished, the reappraisal of its global role became an existential problem for London. In particular, conspicuous divergence between the foreign policy courses of Britain and the EU appears unavoidable in the observable future. Paradoxical, seemingly irrational nature of this experience, inter alia, prompts its interpretivist analytical treatment. Thus, in the article, rationale and reflection delivered by British key politicians and foreign policy experts, as concerns the ideas of “Global Britain”, “Anglosphere” and “Indo-Pacific tilt”, are contemplated not as direct assertions of intent, but as important reference points for timely modification of national foreign policy strategy. Talking about “Anglosphere” comes across like searching for a substitution to the European Union to serve as a framework for British foreign policy, while the “Indo-Pacific tilt” narrative comes laden with hopes for making Brexit a true story of success. The Conservative government perceives the country as a liberal and cosmopolitan middleranking power with exceptional foreign policy potential, soaring to new global heights amidst multilateral networks and bilateral partnerships it is precast to further cultivate.