This thesis concerns the economic dimensions of the Marshall Plan in Greece from 1947 to 1952. The Marshall Aid Program and Mission contributed to the reconstruction and development of the Greek economy after the destruction of World War II and the Greek Civil War. However, because of the shortcomings of its backward economy, Greece was a special case in the implementation of the Marshall Plan in Europe. In particular, the problems of inefficiency and corruption influenced political and social issues on the decision-making process, while uniquely, the Marshall planners tried to create institutions in order to facilitate reconstruction and to improve Greek people's life. The implementation of the Marshall Plan aimed at the development of the Greek economy parallel to the economic development of the other European countries. The Marshall Plan tried to help the backward Greek economy participate in international trade, and created the foundations for the post-war development of the Greek economy. The principal argument of the thesis is that the Greek economy was too weak to absorb fully the enormous aid granted because private and state investments were too negligible to meet further economic development, while a number of Greek politicians and bourgeoisie prevented the implementation of the economic programme. This forced the American Marshall planners to 'freeze' a great part of the aid in order to cover the budget deficit and to hold inflation. The 'frozen' aid 'counterpart funds' were utilised in the two fiscal years following June 1952. Therefore, in the post-war period, the Marshall Plan was the first systematic effort to stabilise the Greek economy, thereby in due course enabling Greece to join the European Economic Community in 1980.

Yes / Peacebuilding, as a remedy for all the ailments afflicting any society emerging from war, has placed this complex and overloaded concept at the centre of a growing network of actors engaged in its formulation and implementation. This paper critically examines the implications of a growing convergence in definitions and approaches amongst this `international post-war peacebuilding community'.

This thesis examines strategies of rule deployed during the British occupation of north-western Germany from 1945 to 1949 and explores instances of cooperation and conflict between the occupiers and the occupied population. While the literature has primarily looked at the occupation through the lens of big political projects, this study analyses the application of quotidian ruling strategies and the making of stability on the ground. Techniques for controlling the German population were devised during the war and transmitted to officials through extensive training. Lessons from previous occupations and imperial experiences also entered the Military Government’s ruling philosophy by way of the biographical composition of its top cadre. Once in Germany, the British instituted a system of ‘indirect rule’ which relied on focal points of visibility as embodied by their local officials charged with cooperating with German notables, and invisible instances of supervision in the form of mass surveillance of civilian communications. To illustrate the way the occupiers dealt with conflict, the thesis analyses the dispensation of punishment for breaking Military Government laws, demonstrating that the British often issued severe punishment when their monopoly of force was contested, thus belying the notion of a particularly docile occupation. During mass popular protests, however, they sought to use moderate German trade unionists as intermediaries tasked with diffusing popular unrest, who were co-opted in exchange for material and propagandistic support. The British also used German administrators at the local and regional level, many of whom had a distinctively technocratic and conservative profile and who were appointed for their administrative experience rather than for their political inclinations. Through lobbying by British ecclesiastical figures, the occupiers also cooperated extensively with the German Churches, who were seen as effective partners in the re-Christianisation of Germany and increasingly as an essential bulwark against Communism. The thesis concludes that the long-term legacies of the British occupation lay in the effects of ‘indirect rule’, which exacerbated social inequalities by strengthening the profile of certain social elites at the expense of mass politics. The occupation is finally placed within the comparative context of occupations in Western Europe during the mid-20th century, which had the common legacy of buttressing elites who were primarily concerned with the making of stability rather than with participatory democracy, thus giving the post-war era its conservative mould.

The thesis analyzes the effects of post-war reconstruction on Bosnian politics, economy and society by focusing on the privatization process. To this end, the strategies followed by local and international actors are examined critically within the context of the globally dominant neoliberal paradigm. This thesis argues that the privatization process has made the realization of the Dayton vision for Bosnian peace- and state-building difficult by strengthening nationalist-extremist local elites, contributing to the creation of pseudo-feudal structures at the local level, and helping accelerate ethnic homogenization on territorial basis. For the international actors, these have been considered to be acceptable risks as long as privatization of strategic sectors is kept insulated and the non-interrupted implementation of the neoliberal programme is ensured.

We need to build less. As a soon-to-be architectural graduate, one could have hoped that the architectural discourse would have come to a more uplifting insight, but here we are, and the reason behind it is perhaps even more daunting, climate change. It seems increasingly apparent that building “green” may not be enough, we must build less. As if that was not prodigious enough, there is the paradoxical fact that, due to war and climate change, there is a growing population of displaced people, rising the demand for new housing and it is doing so at an everything ever-accelerating pace. As a final product, the thesis aims to question on how architects should navigate the demand for immediate shelter without sacrificing the preservation of a nation’s identity, delicately balancing urgency with the timeless essence of cultural heritage by proposing an architecture that is meant to last. A house that will stand the test of time in terms of external stresses caused by the climate, variations in the perception of aesthetic allure as well as the identity of the nation, city, and neighborhood.

Post-war countries are among the most difficult policy arenas for international and domestic actors. The challenge is not only to stop violence and prevent violence from rekindling, but moreover to help countries reset their internal relations on a peaceful path. The indirect, long-term effects of wars further exaggerate this challenge. Many of these relate to political and social aspects of post-war countries. Lasting impressions of human rights abuses committed during wars continue to shape the relations among members of societies for decades to come. Both, socio-economic impacts and political impacts challenge the stability of post-war countries for many years. The challenges to public health have been found to be especially severe and affect disproportionately the civilian population of post-war countries. Environmental and climate change exposes post-war populations further to new risks, exaggerating the human costs of war long after active combat has ceased. These challenges are not new. The problem, however, is that in practice all these elements are simultaneously happening in today’s peacebuilding interventions. Yet, practitioners as well as researchers remain settled in a silo mentality, focusing only on one aspect at a time. As such they are unaware of the unintended consequences that their focus has on other important processes. The four essays that lie at the heart of this dissertation provide new insight into the linkages between the social, political and ecological processes in post-war societies and how the interactions of different groups of actors are shaping the prospects for peace. The argument drawn out in this dissertation is that to build peace we need to acknowledge and understand this long-term interplay of social, political, and ecological processes in post-war countries. It will be crucial to understand the potential and dynamics of natural resources and environmental issues in this context. As the essays in this dissertation show, the interactions of these processes divisively shape the post-war landscape. It is therefore essential to build a peace that is ecologically sensitive, while equally socially and politically relevant and desirable. I call this sustainable peace.

This thesis examines the process by which an Australian policy of post-war economic reconstruction, the main focus of which was the achievement and maintenance of full employment, was developed in preparation for the return of peace at the conclusion of World War II, and the consequences which that policy had within the Australian community. Development of a policy of economic reconstruction took place largely at the instigation of the Curtin Labor government, which had come to power in October 1941, and which in December 1942 established a Ministry of Post War Reconstruction with J.B. Chifley as Minister. Those who were associated with the work of the Ministry in formulating economic policy were Ministers of the Labor Government and professional economists. In the contribution which they made, each was conditioned by the experience of the Great Depression, which motivated them to formulate a policy of full employment, by their adherence to the attitudes and values of the groups to which they belonged: the Labor Party which advocated a move to centralized powers and socialism on the one hand, and the school of Keynesian economic thought which gave the economic initiative to governments on the other, and by the pervasive climate of stringent government direction and control which the war had brought about. This thesis argues that the attitudes and values which were brought to the task of economic reconstruction policy defined the character of that policy, set limits on its scope, and created difficulties in reconciling political and economic views. As a consequence, the policy proposals which were put forward for public debate and endorsement were inadequately thought through, poorly co-ordinated, and too radical to be accepted by the Australian electorate. Because the response of the various interest groups within the community had not been taken into account when the policy was framed, nor had been considered when deciding on the measures to implement the policy, there was considerable opposition to the proposed program of post-war economic reconstruction. This program, when associated with other apparently radical policies such as the nationalization of the banking system, notably contributed to the defeat of the Labor Government in the 1949 elections. The rejection of the post-war reconstruction program might have been avoided or at least ameliorated had a broader perspective been taken in formulating the policy and assessing its consequences.

No electronic version of the thesis exists at present. For the print version please use the link above to the University of Bradford Library Catalogue.

No description available.

Em junho de 1955, o periódico inglês The Architectural Review publicou uma edição especial chamada Outrage escrita pelo jovem crítico Ian Douglas Nairn (1930-1983) que teve um profundo impacto no debate sobre a reconstrução do pós-guerra. Essa dissertação analisa a trajetória intelectual e profissional de Ian Nairn e seu envolvimento com um modelo de intervenção ambiental e metodologia de projeto urbano articulada pela The Architectural Review a partir de 1947 e conhecida com o nome de Townscape. Ao explorar o contexto histórico e cultural na Grã-Bretanha do pós-guerra e o clima intelectual específico na Review essa pesquisa pretende avaliar a esquecida contribuição de Nairn em promover o ideário Townscape na Grã-Bretanha e no exterior. Também pretende demonstrar como esse ideário determinou sua visão e esteve presentes não apenas em seu trabalho para a Review mas também em uma diversa gama de mídia. Não só sua visão era profundamente influenciada pelo ideário Townscape mas podemos afirmar que ele acrescentou ao Townscape algo muito pessoal e essa marca foi importante para a visibilidade dos princípios Townscape e portanto para uma ampla penetração dos mesmos. / In June 1955, the English periodical The Architectural Review published a special edition called Outrage by young critic Ian Douglas Nairn (1930-1983), which had a profound impact on the post-war reconstruction debate. This dissertation analyzes Ian Nairn\'s professional and intellectual trajectory, and his involvement with a model of environmental intervention and urban design methodology articulated by the Architectural Review beginning in 1947 and known under the rubric of Townscape. By exploring the historical and cultural context of post-war Great Britain, as well as the specific cultural climate within the Review, this study aims to assess Nairn\'s largely forgotten contribution in promoting Townscape ideals both in Great Britain and abroad. It also aims to demonstrate how these ideals determined his vision and were present not only in his work at the Review but also across a wide range of media. In addition, we also assert that Nairn added his own unique signature, which was key to the increasing visibility of Townscape ideals and therefore to their dissemination.