The de-industrialisation of the UK economy caused by globalised international markets, advancements in technology and production with changing consumer demands have made much of what was ‘traditional’ manufacturing redundant; this has led to industrial restructuring or even collapse, resulting in mass job redundancies. Market and industrial pressures have intensified since the late 1990s, culminating in the symbolic collapse of MG Rover in 2005 in addition to other key producers in the West Midlands, which represented the end of mass automotive production in the region (Donnelly et al. 2012). This came alongside various geographical, political and economic factors, including the restructuring of regional development agencies, prolonged industrial decline and a period of national economic recession, which presented challenges for any recovery. This thesis examines more precisely the closure of the commercial vehicle manufacturer LDV in 2009, once a part of the larger conglomerate British Leyland. The closure further reinforced the decline in UK automotive manufacturing until that point. The research involves the corporate collapse of LDV and the local government reaction to the closure and the following re-employment pathways of the redundant LDV workforce. The research continues the discussion of plant closures and the issues that redundant workers face when engaged in the labour market during economic recession. In particular, the thesis contribution employs a qualitative approach to examine the difficulties faced by the office tier, or ‘white collar’, workers who possess relatively high skills and who regarded as flexible and less vulnerable workers within the labour market. Yet this research exposes that highly skilled specialist workers are themselves also subject to unique issues when adjusting to the labour market. This topic is covered through the concept of worker trajectories: the research illustrates the unique employability issues and job precariousness that highly skilled workers can experience. The research concludes that the ability of highly skilled redundant workers to adapt effectively requires local job recovery strategies to implement short- and long-term policies with an emphasis on better job search and network development for individuals to sustain a resilient economy, and to mitigate the effects of plant closure upon redundant workers and maintain high skills within the region.

1949年6月，中華民國政府宣佈，將「關閉」所有在中共控制之下的中國領水以及海港，並以海空武力禁制各國船隻進出。之所以使用「關閉」一詞來描述此種近乎海上封鎖的行為，是為了避免引發關於交戰權利以及其他國際法理的爭議，並藉以強調，「關閉本國港口」乃是行使主權。然而，大多數主要國家，基於對華貿易以及航運的利益起見，都不接受此種說法，並視之為一種不合法理的手段。在關閉政策實施後，國軍為了執行關閉任務，不斷與外籍船舶、軍艦在中國沿海爆發衝突，效忠於中華民國的反共游擊部隊也對沿海航運進行襲擾，對大陸東南的海運活動造成了相當的影響。 關閉政策的初衷，是避免中共藉由發展外貿，進而與各國建立實質關係；中華民國政府遷台之後，阻絕中共對外接觸已不可行，關閉政策則成為台海防務的手段之一；1950年6月，韓戰爆發，美國雖實行「台海中立化」政策，要求關閉政策暫停執行，但是隨著東亞戰局的轉變，美國軍方及情治單位放任甚至指使中華民國武裝部隊破壞大陸沿海航運，作為牽制中共軍力的利器。1953年初「解除中立」後，中華民國政府不僅恢復「關閉」，更配合美國要求，在公海上多次截捕東歐及蘇聯船舶，包括轟動一時的蘇聯油輪陶普斯號(Tuapse)截捕案。 本文利用新近開放的中華民國外交部與國防部檔案，以及英美等國已出版的官方文件，探討1949至1960年間，關閉政策的始末及其設計與實施的情形，並試圖利用前述新開放史料釐清、補充若干細節，如1951年「聯合國禁運決議」與關閉政策的關係、台海中立時期國軍干涉外輪活動的轉折，以及中美雙方聯手以關閉政策為名截捕外輪的行動等。此外，國軍在執行關閉時，最常對抗的竟是理論上同屬反共、民主國家陣營的英國、巴拿馬等歐美國家船艦，本文也力求呈現並解釋此種現象，為冷戰時期的對峙提供另外一種不同的面貌與註腳。

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