Britain, the United States and the mutual defence assistance and mutual security programmes 1949-58

Phippard, Helen Thérèse Leigh (1991) Britain, the United States and the mutual defence assistance and mutual security programmes 1949-58. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

This thesis provides the first analysis of the role played by the British Government under the Mutual Defence Assistance and Mutual Security Programmes, and is based upon recently released official records of the British Government. The thesis seeks to make a contribution to the theoretical literature on Anglo-American relations and the nature of Britain's relationship with the United States. It surveys the literature on interdependence in order to illuminate areas of concern. The analysis examines the changing nature of the Anglo-American relationship through an empirical study of Britain's role in the Mutual Defence Assistance and Mutual Security Programmes in both its negotiation and its implementation aspects. Evidence concerning the negotiation and operation of the Mutual Defence and Mutual Security Programmes during the early 1950s illustrates the importance of Britain to the United States at this time. It is concluded that the decline of the Anglo-American relationship in the latter half of the decade was a function of Britain's diminishing importance in leading Europe. It is further concluded that the `special relationship' was a consequence of a high level of interdependence between the two states.

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