This thesis seeks to show that the origins of the 1961 British application to join the European Community lay primarily in the long standing personal commitment of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan both to the idea of supranational European aaangemeats, and to full British participation in them. It argues that fiom the beginning of his political career in the late 1920's, Macmillan displayed a strong commitment to an internationalist political philosophy dedicated to creating a new European and world order that would transcend and replace the nation-states of Europe and their colonial empires, and suppress European economic and political nationalism. His work and close involvement with the leading promoters of this world view is charted, including his membership of groups such as the Round Table, the Royal Institute for International Affairs (RIIA), and Political and Economic Planning (PEP). In particular, his active role in the establishment of the post 1945 European Movement and in his consistent dedication to the creation of supranational European institutions, is described. It is shown, moreover, that Macmillan maintained his European Movement connections throughout his time in high political office, and it is advocated that they hold the key to explaining the evolution of the application to join the European Community which he orchestrated as British Prime Minister in July 1961. It is also argued, that a logical manifestation of Macmillan's internationalist world view and commitment io European supranational integration, was a long-standing sympathy with the ideas and methods of the Soviet Union, and a belief that stable world management could be achieved as a result of a close collaboration with it.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:244175 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Deavin, Mark Kevin |
| Publisher | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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