The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)
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Commonwealth, in which the Colombo Plan was a major element, Britain won
the support from the
ex-colonies. Thus the influence of Communism was blunted
and the other Western countries were deterred from
marching in in order to take
an economic stake in the ex-colonies. Since World War Two, it could also be
said
that giving of aid has become part of international diplomacy, an approach begun
in the
decolonisation process.
Among
both the imperialists and anti-imperialists the colonial
development policy was uncontroversial, as it
contained assistance to the
developing countries and at the same time the economic interests of Britain
were
defended. As they were generally in harmony with what the Labour Government
of 1945-51 had done in
respect of the decolonisation process, the Conservative
leaders of 1951-63 similarly had very little
disagreement with the strategies of
their predecessors in regard to safeguarding British interests in the new
reality of
the ending of Empire and the circumstances surrounding it.
Therefore, the Colombo Plan safeguarded a system of tariff preferences
and the functioning of the
sterling area. Notably they were bilateral agreements
for mutual tariff concessions between various
Commonwealth nations. This
meant that the principles of Imperial Preference (the Ottawa Agreement of
1932
which was a series of bilateral agreements among the Commonwealth countries
for mutual tariff
concessions and maintaining of the sterling area) was protected.
Consequently, the aspirations of traditional
Conservatives, and “the
Establishment” generally, as the prime beneficiaries of Empire, for
maintaining
British economic interests was protected. In addition, the interests specifically of
the
political elite in maintaining Britain’s world role and influence was furthered
by their own skill in
successfully managing the transition to the Modern
Commonwealth in the period 1945-63.
Thus it
is essential to note that those members of the elite with political
power tended to view the world in a
similar way and seek similar solutions to
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