Foreign Policy 1979-1990

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27 Terms

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Evidence that Thatcher had clear Foreign Policy Aims

  • wanted to raise Britain’s world status

  • supported use of nuclear deterrents

  • believed in NATO as a keeper of world peace

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Evidence that Thatcher did not have clear Foreign Policy aims

  • less interested in foreign affairs, more about the domestic economy

  • general views but few initiatives - eg, very anti-communist and felt that civil servants did not fight hard enough for Britain

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Causes of the Falklands conflict

  • islanders wanted to remain under British rule - they had done since 1833

  • Argentina had a claim over the islands, since 1817 when they gained independence - the military junta in charge of Argentina at the time wanted the land

  • 1981 - Britain withdrew the HMS Endurance from the islands, the Argentinian military junta saw this as a sign Britain was willing to let the island go

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Thatcher was right to go to war (CAUSES)

  • islanders wanted to remain a British colony

  • Britain would have left the islanders under the rule of a military junta - no democracy

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Thatcher was wrong to go to war (CAUSES)

  • Argentina also had claim on the islands, went further back than British

  • gov. had previously shown it was willing to negotiate over the islands

  • winning the lands back would be difficult and dangerous

  • General Atelier & the Argentinian gov were conservative, anti-communist and allies with the US - necessary in a Cold War context

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support for the war (EVENTS)

  • Thatcher’s decision for action boosted support for her unpopular government (Falklands Factor)

  • caused a surprisingly patriotic national mood

  • America gave the UK use of military bases and moral support (unlike Suez)

  • Only a special task force sent

  • 1981 UK submarine sank the Argentine battleship Belgrano - no more room for negotiation

  • swift victory - April to June

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opposes the war (EVENTS)

  • decision was a risky gamble, could’ve ended like Suez

  • Belgrano’s sinking in 1981 was controversial - killed many, but the ship was heading away from the battlezone

  • the Sun headline ‘Gotcha!’ enraged many, started anti-war protests

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supports the war (CONSEQUENCES)

  • a resurgence of national pride in Britain

  • world position seemed stronger than in the 1970s

  • tabloids reflected this sense of ‘triumphalism’

  • victory parade - Thatcher stood on the Buckingham Palace balcony, improved her brand as a female global leader

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opposes the war (CONSEQUENCES)

  • critics found the war unnecessary, Britain would sooner or later negotiate a deal

  • the gloating of the press was disliked

  • diplomatic relations with Argentina resumed in 1989

  • did not stop the continued tidying of Britain’s imperial past - more like a ‘blip’ in world affairs

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why might Thatcher and Reagan work well together?

  • his ‘Reagonomics’ similar to Thatcher’s economic ideas

  • they were ideologically similar, united by their ew Right pro-capitalism

  • in the context of the Cold War, it would be likely they’d collaborate to protect capitalism and prevent expanding communism

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Positive examples of the special relationship

  • Thatcher & Reagan’s similar ideology - Reagan: ‘government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem’ - individualistic

  • Falklands - US banned arms sales to Argentina and Congress announced support for the UK

  • 1986 - Thatcher gave permission for US to use British air bases to bomb Libya, despite domestic criticism

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Negative examples in the special relationship

  • 1983 - in response to political instability in Grenada (member of the Commonwealth, the Queen was its sovereign) - US invaded to prevent it falling to pro-USSR forces

  • leading up to this Thatcher warned Reagan to not invade, he did not tell her it was taking place when it did

  • 1982 US sos Haig’s attempts to negotiate an end to the Falklands initially annoyed Thatcher

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The Cold War ended due to military might

  • Thatcher agrees to the deployment of US cruise missiles in Britain - the West had military might with a wider global reach

  • US development of SDI (Strategic Defence Initiative, nicknamed the Star Wars program)

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The Cold War ended due to fear of nuclear power

  • ‘Protect and Survive’ booklets issued by UK gov

  • 1984 - ‘Threads’ BBC film on nuclear apocalypse

  • 1983 CND march in London - 200,000 people

  • 1986 - Raymond Brigg’s ‘When the Wind Blows’ , popular cartoon book

  • a number of pop songs on the possibility of nuclear war by Sting, Kate Bush, Frankie Goes to Hollywood

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The Cold War ended as the USSR could not afford to compete

  • US cruise missiles in Britain stoked pressure on the USSR and convinced Brezhnev’s regime that it was impossible to keep up with the wealthy west in the arms race

  • 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan - disastrous, needing away what was left of soviet military might

  • it was obvious that the USSR was on its last legs, hoplessly overstretched militarily by the early 1980s

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The Cold War ended due to individuals

new ‘Cold War warrior’ leaders used tough rhetoric, rising tensions - Thatcher was determined to confront the uSSR

Michael Gorbachev - more willing to compromise, promoted perestroika and glasnost, forming good relations with conservative leaders Thatcher and Reagan

Special Relationship meant that Thatcher could encourage Reagan to negotiate with Gorbachev - led to successful 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

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Thatcher was an Iron Lady

  • took a lead in negotiations between the US and Gorbachev

  • her ideological similarities with US did not dictate her foreign policy, she just recognised the strength of working together

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Thatcher was a US poodle

  • relies on US military might and nuclear protection (eg, US cruise missiles)

  • followed a similar FP to Us over the Cold War

  • complicit in the invasion of Grenada (Oct 1983) a Commonwealth country

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Handbag diplomacy meaning

term referring to Thatcher’s forceful and demanding negotiations

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Thatcher’s contrasting views on Europe

  • had advocated for remaining in the 1975 referendum, yet by the time she became PM advocated for British interests instead - EEC policies do not suit UK small farming communities

  • saw the EEC as only an economic vehicle, opposing political union

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1984 successful rebate from the EEC

  • as Britain was not getting as much money as it was putting into Common Agricultural Policy, he demanded money back

  • This was something she was adamant about, and ultimately successful in

  • a sign of worsening relations with the EEC

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1988 Bruges speech

  • a turning point - the speech contained provocative statements that infuriated many European leaders, and resolutely opposed federalism and the idea of an ‘ever closer political union’

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Thatcher’s economic ideology contrast that of the EEC

  • she opposed centralisation in a supra-nationalist economic group, as t had failed in the USSR and did not allow individualism

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Jacques Delors

European Commission President - clashed with Thatcher over federalism

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1986 Single European Act

  • biggest step towards a centralised Europe, Thatcher presided over this process

  • the principle of supra-nationality established, signatory countries committed themselves to closer political and economic union

  • the right for individual member states to veto majority decisions was abolished

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Channel tunnel project

  • beginning 1981, UK and France collaborate to build transportation between the two countries

  • finished in 1994, but consistent throughout her office

  • she had a good working relationship with French president Francois Mitterand

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was Thatcher’s cabinet pro-European?

most of Thatcher’s cabinet was pro-European