Foreign Policy 1979-1990

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

Handbag diplomacy meaning

term referring to Thatcher’s forceful and demanding negotiations

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

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

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’

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

Jacques Delors

European Commission President - clashed with Thatcher over federalism

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

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

was Thatcher’s cabinet pro-European?

most of Thatcher’s cabinet was pro-European