Military Assistance, the development and training of capacity and capability of foreign security forces, has largely been ignored by the research community, including the security studies research community. Military Assistance, as a tool, creates the possibility of both positive and negative outcomes for both recipient and providing nations, and as such it should be examined within the broader framework of international relations, with regards to the projection and perception of power. This research is timely and important, since Military Assistance is an actively pursued security solution within the international system. With the growth of Military Assistance missions around the world, from Iraq and Afghanistan to the Central African Republic, understanding the dynamics that can create or facilitate successful Military Assistance and its broader implications has become more critical. As a tool of United States foreign policy, Military Assistance missions extend United States power, while at the same time minimizing the risk of protracted United States military involvement. Consequently, reliance on Military Assistance has become the preferred method for pursuing strategic military direction and the development of strategic alliances. This will be explored in two case studies: South Korea and Vietnam. This research study seeks to recognize and define the dynamics of successful Military Assistance missions: more specifically, by defining its role in possibly linking the development of an army and a broader strategic alliance between states. I trace how the creation of capacities and capabilities establishes a more integrated relationship between two states, and acts as a prime process to extrapolate and test an applicable theory that can be used in multiple contexts. The goal of this research is a better understanding of Military Assistance as an international relations tool which can further strategic alliances and American Grand Strategy.

This thesis examines the reception of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War in US foreign policy debates since the end of the Cold War. It begins with a background survey of Thucydides’ use in foreign policy debates up to and during the Cold War, primarily by the realist school of international relations, and the comparisons which were drawn between the Cold War and the Peloponnesian War. After the Cold War, these comparisons became less relevant to current debates, and critics of realism began to use Thucydides to support their own theories. The emphasis is on how the three key movements since the Cold War, realism, liberal internationalism and neoconservatism, have each saw aspects in Thucydides’ writing to admire and utilise for their theories, at the same time building competing interpretations of key sections from Thucydides’ History. At the same time, as well as drawing abstract theories from Thucydides, analysts have also drawn historical parallels between the present and the Peloponnesian War in a creative process which results in modern states playing different ancient roles depending upon the context. I show that Thucydides’ text lends itself particularly well to such recycling due to the author’s tendency to highlight complex tensions without providing explicit authorial ‘answers’.

The dissertation builds upon the question of why Nixon, a Republican, implemented the first affirmative action programs. It is divided into three parts. The first charts the liberal approach to race relations and the crisis that attended its collapse. As Habermas noted, a "legitimation crisis" affected private institutions necessitating a new round of government intervention. This section explores the idea that affirmative action was part of this legitimation crisis, an administrative replacement for the failure of the post-war hope that racism would disappear after the destruction of formal barriers to black equality. The second looks at the interventions of the Nixon administration. It argues that the Philadelphia Plan was less important in terms of later affirmative action than is usually thought. Other programs (such as the OMBE) developed around the same time became more significant. 1970 became the year that programs aimed at reforming ghettos transformed into programs aimed at strengthening the black middle-class. Nixon, though often characterised as "aprincipled," had what Garry Wills termed "the right to earn" in mind when pushing through the Philadelphia Plan in Congress. All Americans - black and white - should have this right, he reasoned. The present-day sides of the argument had yet to be formed and in 1972 Nixon saw no fundamental contradiction in insisting that quotas not curtail the rights of white workers. The third section examines why the issue of affirmative action seemed to follow the implementation of affirmative action programs. Here, it is suggested that the changing intellectual climate surrounding the introduction of the first affirmative action programs transformed piecemeal civil rights programs into a broad policy model and ensured that controversy followed. Early affirmative action policies, this section demonstrates, caused little controversy before (at least) 1973. The sides of the debate had yet to be formed. John Rawls' work is examined as an expression of the need to replace liberal institutions - such as the allocation of resources on the basis of merit. The Club of Rome's The Limits to Growth similarly focussed attention onto the realm of distribution rather than that of production, moving from Kennedy's perspective" a rising tide lifts all boats" - to one of affirmative action. Affirmative action measures were both necessary as a mechanism of distribution and a constant focus of complaint as different groups argued over relative shares.

Rumour and information are one of the most fundamental ways in which people engage with one another. Rumours can change the way that individuals and groups see each other and the actions that they take. Sociologists and anthropologists have long used rumour as a way to explore the experiences of their subjects. Historians of early America have, in recent years, begun to make use of rumour as a way of examining the, often hidden, world of interactions between American Indians and white Europeans. This thesis will expand upon this work by exploring the changing role of rumour within an intercultural relationship over several decades. This thesis will focus on rumour in the relationship between the Cherokee Nation and the colonists of the British Empire. It will explore the ways that rumour influenced these interactions and the impact of the rapidly changing backcountry environment of the latter eighteenth century, both on rumour and on the wider Cherokee- British relationship. This thesis will argue that rumour shifted in the course of the eighteenth century from being a diplomatic tool which could be used- either to create further panic and confusion or to calm and smooth over problems- to an uncontrollable force which would deepen and exacerbate the divisions between Cherokees and the British. Rumour played an important role in politics and society in the eighteenth century backcountry and its changing function offers a way to better understand the shifting currents of life in early America.

My thesis explores the American Revolution and War for Independence within the broader context of the British Atlantic world. It examines how the war and the revolutionary ideology affected the ways in which Britons living throughout the Atlantic world understood and articulated their loyalty to Great Britain. The American Revolution directly challenged the legitimacy of British whig ideology and self­-definition, and forced peoples and communities throughout the Empire to rethink commonplace assumptions about their rights and liberties as British subjects. The thesis is organized and focused around five specific British Atlantic communities: London, New York City, Glasgow, Halifax (Nova Scotia) and Kingston (Jamaica). During the first half of the eighteenth century diverse peoples throughout Britain’s Atlantic empire united in their allegiance to the Hanoverian monarchy and expressed a Protestant whig identity that was contrasted with the perceived oppressive regime, and lack of political and religious freedoms of an alien French enemy. The American Revolution, however, presented an explicit challenge to these Protestant whig ideals, for these same beliefs had also inspired the American Patriots. For the first time, Britons were opposed in war not by the French, but rather by fellow Protestant Britons. Consequently, American resistance and eventual rebellion to British imperial rule in the 1760s and 1770s served to divide rather than unite loyal Britons throughout the Atlantic world. Britons struggled to articulate a shared empire-wide opposition to an enemy and ideology that appeared not all that different from their own Protestant whig beliefs. The Franco-American alliance of 1778 thus assumed enormous significance for loyal Britons. Once again, they could identify the enemy as opponents of whig and Protestant beliefs. Britons were shocked by the hypocrisy of a revolutionary ideology that was supposedly based upon a superior definition of whig ideology, yet was now allied with an arbitrary empire. Britons throughout the Atlantic world were able to redefine their American foes as no longer being fellow Britons, while simultaneously celebrating their loyalty within a broader empire-wide conception of Britishness. The result of which was a more determined and defiant expression of loyalty to Great Britain that was shared by Britons throughout the Atlantic world. Thus the American Revolution not only created a new American nation, but it also created a more determined British national identity shared by Britons throughout the Atlantic world.

This thesis is a study of how the Richard Nixon administration explained its China policy to its allies and friends in Asia and their reactions towards the major changes in the US-PRC relationship during the early 1970s. These allies and friends are the Republic of China (ROC), the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. When Nixon came to power in 1969, he was desperate to disengage from the Vietnam War and to reduce the United States (US) formal military presence in Asia. He employed the policies of Vietnamization and the Nixon Doctrine to achieve these objectives, which when combined with the US-PRC rapprochement would serve to reduce tensions in Asia. The Asian states were apprehensive of the future of the US commitment to the region due to the reduction of its military presence in Asia and their worries were compounded when Nixon sought rapprochement with the PRe. Explanations were sought from the US and reassurances were given by the Nixon administration in order to pacify its allies and friends in Asia. The development of the relationships of the Asian states with the PRC, and also with the US, revealed the extent to which Nixon was able to convince these Asian states that his China policy would not be detrimental to their security. The rapprochement did much to alter the relationships the Asian states shared with both the US and the PRC. Nixon's China policy acted as a catalyst for some of the Asia states to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC. These Asian states were either uncertain of the American commitment to Asia or recognised the convergence of interest between the rapprochement and their national interests. They then moved swiftly towards establishing diplomatic ties with the PRe.

My doctoral project examines the role that serials and printed ephemera played in animating ordinary Philadelphians into revolutionary action. I am interested in the intellectual life of historically inarticulate peoples, and I argue that the moments of intersection between crowds and texts recorded how American colonists contributed their own thoughts toward erudite theories surrounding representative government, liberty, and commercial networks. The central research question asks: what role did texts play in the transformation of British subjects into dissident Americans? Where earlier studies of the Revolution have emphasized either radical argumentation or revolutionary activity, I show how the material text functioned as a vital intermediary by creating a persuasive ideal of the American identity through the physical ubiquity of colonial prints, the distillation of printed ideas into imitable action, the reiteration of instructive texts through public performances, and a consistent message across all media of the virtue and necessity of an American community. In so doing, the thesis no less crucially explores print materials and modes of reader reception deemed relatively inaccessible in previous studies of reading in America. The project concludes by looking forward toward the sectionalism of the nineteenth century arguing that print created a perception of unity without a meaningful unification of the divergent regional practices.

Based on the Open Door Policy, the United States has pursued an informal empire based on spreading its economic influence by ensuring open access to vital goods and raw materials, and establishing military presence in areas of interest, as America’s corporate and strategic interests worked together in harmony. This approach has been especially evident in energy-producing regions, where the US seeks to establish economic and military dominance to support its global economic power. George W. Bush, like all his predecessors, pursued the Open Door Empire, especially with respect to access to foreign energy resources, which took on an even higher priority because of his ties to the oil industry and the belief that the US was suffering from an energy crisis and relative economic decline. Energy procurement was linked to his other foreign policy priority as he took office; military advancement. After the September 11 attacks, two other foreign policy priorities were established: the War on Terror, and global power projection. Bush used the War on Terror to implement the Open Door Policy and meld the four priorities. He used the military to solve America’s economic and energy problems by invading Afghanistan and Iraq to control vital energy routes and resources, both as an end in itself (due to the economic and corporate benefits to the US) and a means to other, greater ends (as control over global energy supplies strengthened America’s imperial status). The Bush Doctrine stipulated that in the War on Terror, the US should take the war to the enemy and spread democracy as a tool to combat terrorism. Invading Iraq was meant to demonstrate US military power, fight terrorism (based on the false claims of Saddam Hussein’s ties to al Qaeda), secure Iraq’s oil resources and rebuild the country, using Iraq’s oil revenues. Thus Iraq would become a democratic model for the Middle East and a substitute for Saudi Arabia as America’s main strategic ally and source of oil. Compared to the George H.W. Bush and Clinton Administrations, the George W. Bush Administration is unique in two ways. First, it put energy resources at the fore of its foreign policy goals during his first days in office. Second, unlike previous US administrations that preserved undemocratic regimes in the Middle East to stabilize the region’s oil resources, the Bush Administration tried to democratise the region, using Iraq’s oil to rebuild the country into a democratic model. In pursuing these aims, the Bush Administration can be blamed for negligence, as it ignored warnings of post-war violence while planning for the Iraq war. The Bush Doctrine was too dependent on success in Iraq and on rebuilding the Iraqi oil sector. The post-war instability led to the failure of the Bush Doctrine’s plans for the region, meaning that the Bush Administration had to return to supporting undemocratic regimes in the Middle East. Despite endeavours to spread its global military power, promote global economic influence and diversify energy resources away from the Middle East, the US will continue to suffer from relative decline and will be less energy secure than ever.

My thesis offers an examination of U.S. policy towards Rhodesia as viewed through the lens of the respective Presidential administrations. The aim of my research is to demonstrate the changing American perspective on the Rhodesian question and how this directly affected the ultimate emergence of an independent Zimbabwe. I discuss the transformation in U.S. policy from the cautious approach of the Johnson White House, the shift towards 'white Africa' during the Nixon years as anticommunism and economic interests took centre stage and the subsequent attempt of the Ford Administration to achieve a peace settlement to prevent further communist expansion into southern Africa. Finally, I will analyse the critical role played by President Carter in bringing an end to UDI. When evaluating U.S. policy I highlight the diverse factors which drove presidential decision making. Anti-communism, trade, strategic interests, the increasing interdependence of the global system, a moral belief in decolonization, the growth of human rights, domestic race relations and the growing importance of the African-American vote all significantly impacted White House actions. On a broader level, I will demonstrate how relations with Salisbury offers an interpretative prism which reveals the evolution of U.S. foreign relations during the Sixties and Seventies.

The concept of myth has been central to the interpretation of President Ronald Reagan. This is a complex and ambiguous association. Myth is variously defined, referring to fable and falsehood as well as symbolic narratives of memory and identity. It is also variously applied, to Reagan's character, ideology, communication and legacy. Reagan's relationship to American mythology has been incompletely defined, and is in need of a synthesis which shows the connections between its different facets and processes, while identifying the problems of such an approach. Analysing the extensive literature on Reagan, using his public papers and published writings, and based on original research at the Reagan Presidential Library and at Stanford University, this thesis considers the presence and functions of American myth in Reagan's presidency in five distinct ways. Firstly, I look at the mythic narratives of Reagan's life in his biography. Secondly, I define his own perception of American history. Thirdly, I describe his distinctive, but constrained engagements with national commemoration. Fourthly, I explore the politicised historical interpretations of two central events of his presidency, the end of the Cold War, and the Iran/Contra affair. Lastly, I examine how his presidential library works to define his varied meaning in American history and mythology. The thesis concludes by surveying Reagan's meaning in twenty-first century America, and the tension between his national and partisan symbolism. Reagan built a reputation on his successful appeals to American myth, memory and identity and maintains a charged and contested symbolism. This association and this success have become the definitive factor of his image as his own mythology emerges in American national culture.