History

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of History.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

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Browsing History by Author "Gorman, Daniel"

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    If All Else Fails ... Survival: Protect and Survive and the End of the World in Thatcherite Britain
    (University of Waterloo, 2020-08-10) Buscemi, Joseph; Gorman, Daniel
    If All Else Fails… Survival, is a thorough examination of the creation of Britain’s 1980s nuclear civil defence program, Protect and Survive. The programme’s role as a significant political and cultural influence in Britain throughout the decade, and as a prominent construct of Cold War memories, are evidenced. The Conservative Party’s release of the programme was a defining moment in British history, that carries political, social, cultural, and psychological ramifications. However, this research establishes that the programme’s legacy as the creepy cartoon that advised families to hide from nuclear bombs in DIY shelters is misunderstood and oversimplified. Protect and Survive’s pragmatic simplicity (still associated with the Conservative Party) was symptomatic of a long, clandestine history of nuclear proliferation and civil defence cuts spearheaded by Labour Ministries as a means of bolstering support for the nuclear deterrent. The programme sparked concerted criticisms and its questionable efficacy was considered to be indicative of government efforts to remain a nuclear power, at the expense of public survival. The many policies, protests, and media that emanated from Protect and Survive provide unrivalled examples of discourses between governments and citizenry during the Cold War, indelibly capturing how British leaders covertly prepared themselves for the end of British civilization. Also brought to light is the unprecedented alliance between scientists, artists, doctors, Labour, academics, the CND, socialists, and Local Authorities (principally the Greater London Council) to assail the Thatcher government through the weak point of Protect and Survive’s dubious credibility. Being released in early 1980, Protect and Survive became a remarkable focal point of Thatcherite conservatism, nuclear disarmament, and British neoliberal culture at national and municipal levels. The remarkably negative public reaction to the program facilitated extraordinary debates and media on Britain’s status as a nuclear power. Also considered are the cultural and political realities of 1980s British society through the relationships between federal and municipal governments with civil defence and the protection of its citizenry. British concepts of nuclear danger are explored as well as how the fear of annihilation informed ideas of Britishness, community, mental health, class, culture, and the role of government. Also rationalized is the processes through which Protect and Survive shaped the everyday experience of British life during the Cold War as part of a complex correlation between politics and culture that was endemic within Cold War Britain.
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    Stand Fast for Peace & Freedom: A Study of Foreign Policy of the British Labour Party in Opposition 1931 to 1940
    (University of Waterloo, 2022-11-21) Cater, Evan; Gorman, Daniel
    This thesis examines the evolution of foreign policy within the British Labour Party during its years in opposition from 1931 to 1940. It argues that Labour policy was locked in a bitter divide between idealist and pragmatic forces who both sought a foreign policy which could effectively counter the spread of fascism. In 1933 Labour had a radical turn towards a policy of war resistance and abandoned hope in multilateralism after witnessing the failure of the World Disarmament Conference. Labour would undertake a long and difficult process of gradually shifting away from this radical turn first by trying to revive its faith in collective security through the League of Nations and later by accepting rearmament and a return to the traditional balance of power system. Labour policy reached a turning point in 1938 when it found an honourable cause to defend Czechoslovakian democracy from the reach of Adolf Hitler. It was able to galvanise cross-party support and generate significant public sympathy for its hostility to Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement. This stand against the Prime Minister, while unsuccessful, laid the foundation for Labour to return to Government in 1940 during a period of national emergency. The lessons learned from these experiences allowed the Party to help shape the postwar world after it secured a majority Government in 1945.
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    “To Tidy Minds it May Appear Illogical”: How the Commonwealth Evolved from an ‘Imperial Club’ to an International Organisation
    (University of Waterloo, 2020-07-02) Arens, Preston; Gorman, Daniel
    The history of the Commonwealth is vast and multifaceted. It touches on myriad fields, actors, and eras, and reaches from the local to the global. Amidst the Gordian knot of Commonwealth history this thesis is about understanding the organisational history of the Commonwealth on its own terms, rather than as a derivative topic of other fields. Building on the premise that the Commonwealth today is an international organisation (IO), this thesis argues that the Commonwealth transitioned from an imperial club to an international organisation in the 1960s, hinging on the creation of the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1965. The creation and subsequent growth of the Secretariat was negotiated between the “expansionist” members who viewed the Commonwealth as an international organisation and argued for a strong, expanded Secretariat, and the “restrictionist” members who opposed Secretariat growth. The Secretary-General and his staff were a third group of actors that mediated between the expansionists and restrictionists and pursued a vision for the organisation that would appeal to all members. The weight of this project rests on case studies in logistics, membership applications, the Rhodesian crisis, and Commonwealth technical cooperation. These topics help foreground how the transition from club to IO took place. Through these case studies I argue that the management of Commonwealth meetings decisively influenced the future of the organisation and was instrumental in the expansionists’ vision of the Commonwealth as an IO prevailing by 1970. The debates and decisions of Commonwealth meetings are well known, but the process of planning and managing those meetings has shaped the evolution of the Commonwealth as much, if not more than the content of the meetings themselves.