Keith Hamilton – författare

This book examines the ''Know How Fund'', Britain’s bilateral technical assistance programme in post-communist central and eastern Europe, devised in response to the end of the Cold War.

The Know How Fund (KHF) was the technical assistance programme which Margaret Thatcher’s government launched in the spring of 1989 to encourage Poland’s transition from communism to democracy and free-market capitalism. It was subsequently extended to other countries of central and eastern Europe and might be considered a novel experiment in what the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, would later term ‘transformational diplomacy’.

Drawing upon still-closed records of the Cabinet Office, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, this book explores the political origins of the KHF. In particular, the author examines its influence upon the transitional process in the lands of the former Soviet bloc; its part in attenuating the potentially destabilising effects of revolutionary change in Europe; the interdepartmental cooperation and rivalry to which its administration gave rise in Whitehall; and the links forged between officials and the worlds of business, finance and academe in project design and implementation. The volume offers new insights into Britain’s reactions to the collapse of communism in central Europe and the Soviet Union; the role of aid in the making and conduct of British foreign policy; and the significance of New Labour’s establishment of DFID as a separate government department.

This book will be of much interest to students of British Foreign Policy, Diplomacy Studies, European history, Post-Communist Transitions and IR in general.

This book examines the ''Know How Fund'', Britain’s bilateral technical assistance programme in post-communist central and eastern Europe, devised in response to the end of the Cold War.

The Know How Fund (KHF) was the technical assistance programme which Margaret Thatcher’s government launched in the spring of 1989 to encourage Poland’s transition from communism to democracy and free-market capitalism. It was subsequently extended to other countries of central and eastern Europe and might be considered a novel experiment in what the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, would later term ‘transformational diplomacy’.

Drawing upon still-closed records of the Cabinet Office, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, this book explores the political origins of the KHF. In particular, the author examines its influence upon the transitional process in the lands of the former Soviet bloc; its part in attenuating the potentially destabilising effects of revolutionary change in Europe; the interdepartmental cooperation and rivalry to which its administration gave rise in Whitehall; and the links forged between officials and the worlds of business, finance and academe in project design and implementation. The volume offers new insights into Britain’s reactions to the collapse of communism in central Europe and the Soviet Union; the role of aid in the making and conduct of British foreign policy; and the significance of New Labour’s establishment of DFID as a separate government department.

This book will be of much interest to students of British Foreign Policy, Diplomacy Studies, European history, Post-Communist Transitions and IR in general.

This volume is comprised of a collection of diplomatic documents covering British reactions to, and policy towards, the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and the unification of Germany in 1989-90.

The peaceful unification of Germany in 1989-90 brought a dramatic end to the Cold War. This volume documents official British reactions to the collapse of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the evolution of British policy during the ‘Two plus Four’ negotiations that provided the international framework for the merger of the two German states. All of the documents fall within the UK’s 30-year rule and have therefore not previously been in the public domain. Most are drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but there are also a large number of Prime Ministerial files from the Cabinet Office archives. These are of particular interest for the light they throw on the views of Margaret Thatcher. Taken together, the documents show that despite Mrs Thatcher’s well-known reservations about German unity, the United Kingdom played a vital and constructive role in the negotiations that helped to bring it about.

This volume will be of great interest to students of International History, British Political History, and European Politics and International Relations in general.

Patrick Salmon is Chief Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Keith Hamilton is a Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Senior Editor of Documents on British Policy Overseas.

Stephen Twigge is a Senior Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

This volume is comprised of a collection of diplomatic documents covering British reactions to, and policy towards, the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and the unification of Germany in 1989-90.

The peaceful unification of Germany in 1989-90 brought a dramatic end to the Cold War. This volume documents official British reactions to the collapse of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the evolution of British policy during the ‘Two plus Four’ negotiations that provided the international framework for the merger of the two German states. All of the documents fall within the UK’s 30-year rule and have therefore not previously been in the public domain. Most are drawn from the archives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, but there are also a large number of Prime Ministerial files from the Cabinet Office archives. These are of particular interest for the light they throw on the views of Margaret Thatcher. Taken together, the documents show that despite Mrs Thatcher’s well-known reservations about German unity, the United Kingdom played a vital and constructive role in the negotiations that helped to bring it about.

This volume will be of great interest to students of International History, British Political History, and European Politics and International Relations in general.

Patrick Salmon is Chief Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Keith Hamilton is a Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Senior Editor of Documents on British Policy Overseas.

Stephen Twigge is a Senior Historian at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

A fascinating collection of British foreign policy documents covering reactions in Whitehall to political change and revolution in the Mediterranean basin from 1973 to 1976.

This volume contains many previously unpublished documents, including Joint Intelligence Committee papers, which cast new light on key events, such as the international crisis triggered by the coup against Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus, Turkey’s military intervention in the island, the overthrow of the Caetano regime in Portugal, and the death of Franco in Spain.

During 1973-76, years generally associated with East/West détente in Europe, NATO’s southern flank was plunged into crisis by a revolution in Portugal and a coup d’état in Cyprus. Political turmoil in Portugal, Turkey’s military intervention in Cyprus, the collapse of the military government in Greece, and the threat of a Greco-Turkish War, all emphasized the vulnerability of the alliance to regime change in the Mediterranean. The Western allies had also to prepare for the death of two ageing dictators in Spain and Yugoslavia, and the possible entry of Communists into government in France and Italy. This volume draws upon the records of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence, to document the reactions of Harold Wilson’s Labour government to these developments.

This book will be of great interest to all students of contemporary British history, international history, European history, international relations, politics and diplomacy.

A fascinating collection of British foreign policy documents covering reactions in Whitehall to political change and revolution in the Mediterranean basin from 1973 to 1976.

This volume contains many previously unpublished documents, including Joint Intelligence Committee papers, which cast new light on key events, such as the international crisis triggered by the coup against Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus, Turkey’s military intervention in the island, the overthrow of the Caetano regime in Portugal, and the death of Franco in Spain.

During 1973-76, years generally associated with East/West détente in Europe, NATO’s southern flank was plunged into crisis by a revolution in Portugal and a coup d’état in Cyprus. Political turmoil in Portugal, Turkey’s military intervention in Cyprus, the collapse of the military government in Greece, and the threat of a Greco-Turkish War, all emphasized the vulnerability of the alliance to regime change in the Mediterranean. The Western allies had also to prepare for the death of two ageing dictators in Spain and Yugoslavia, and the possible entry of Communists into government in France and Italy. This volume draws upon the records of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Defence, to document the reactions of Harold Wilson’s Labour government to these developments.

This book will be of great interest to all students of contemporary British history, international history, European history, international relations, politics and diplomacy.