Liberals, International Relations and Appeasement: The Liberal Party, 1919-1939

by Grayson; RICHARD S

• ISBN13: 9780714650920
• ISBN10: 0714650927
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-09-29
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This work shows the importance of analyzing the "low" politics of areas that have traditionally been dominated by "high" politics. The role of bodies such as the Liberal Summer School and the Women's Liberal Federation are examined, along with the work of thinkers such as JM Keynes and Ramsay Muir. The text should make two major contributions to our knowledge of the role of international relations in British politics in the inter-war years. First, by analysing the Liberal Party's principles and policies on international relations, it offers a perspective on British Liberalism. Second, by exploring the Liberal Party's alternative to the Baldwin-Chamberlain policy of appeasement, it enters the historical debate on the options open to Britain in the 1930s, and shows that there was a Liberal alternative to appeasement.

Author Biography

Richard S. Grayson is Director of Policy of the Liberal Democrats, and the chief policy adviser to the party leader, the Rt. Hon. Charles Kennedy MP.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vi
Series Editor's Preface	vii
Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xiv
List of Abbreviations	xiv
Introduction	1	(27)
Liberal Thinkers	28	(30)
The Liberal Summer School	58	(21)
The Official Liberal Party: Conferences	79	(21)
The Official Liberal Party: Liberals in Parliament	100	(39)
Liberal Activists	139	(7)
Conclusion: Liberal Politics and Liberal Ideology	146	(11)
Appendices	157	(26)
1. General Elections, 1918-45	157	(2)
2. The Liberal Summer School	159	(4)
3. Dates of Liberal Conferences, 1918-39	163	(1)
4. Policy Statements	164	(14)
5. Liberal MPs and Munich	178	(2)
6. 8.30 Club Debates	180	(3)
Bibliography	183	(12)
Index	195