Robert Barnes – författare

This study focuses on the Bible as a landmark of literature, showing both how it has influenced writers through the ages and how it in turn has been influenced by contemporary literature. It describes what is known about the historical context of the documents, the changes of interpretation they have undergone over the centuries, and the problems and influence of various translations, ranging from Tyndale to the Good News Bible.

Military, social and economic historians have long appreciated the significance of the conflict in Korea in shaping the post-war world. The policy of containment was formed, China was established as an important military power, and the US increased its military expenditure fourfold as a result of a conflict which killed over 33,000 Americans. What has been less appreciated is the role played by the United Nations and the British Commonwealth in influencing US strategy at this time of crisis: the Truman administration invested time and effort into gaining UN approval for the conflict in Korea, and the course of the war was adapted to keep UN allies, often holding crucial strategic positions in other Cold War theatres, in tow. Robert Barnes develops a fresh perspective on these fluctuating relationships, the tensions between Washington and its British Commonwealth allies and their impact on the direction of the conflict in order to challenge the common view that the United States was able to use its dominant position within the UN to pursue its Cold War ambitions with impunity.This important new interpretation is supported by evidence from a wealth of sources, from official government records to private papers and memoirs written by the most important American and Commonwealth personalities directly involved in shaping the UN's response to the conflict. This study presents a thorough deconstruction of the decision-making process behind US handling of the Korean War from the outbreak of conflict in 1950 to the Geneva Conference of 1954. This will be essential reading for students of International Relations, Cold War Studies and modern History.

In examining the early United Nations disputes over South African racial and expansionist policies between 1946 and 1952, this book explores how South Africa found itself out of step with the post-war international environment and had become a pariah state as well as an embarrassment to its Commonwealth partners even before apartheid was formally discussed at the world organisation.Focusing on international concerns around two specific disputes at the UN; the treatment of Indians in South Africa, and Pretoria’s attempts to annex the territory of South West Africa (Namibia), Barnes highlights how divisive these issues became for the Commonwealth of Nations. The recently independent Asian ‘new’ members, especially India, led the charge in criticizing these policies. But for the ‘old’ White members, from whom South Africa expected support and who initially went the furthest in supporting their partner, the situation was more problematic. These governments increasingly felt uncomfortable openly endorsing South Africa’s policies, especially after the election of the National Party in 1948 and the implementation of its apartheid programme in the face of mounting international criticism. Utilizing a vast range of official records from the Commonwealth countries involved and the UN, The South African Disputes before Apartheid shows how these disputes over the future of South Africa’s race relations and its territorial claims caused the deepest rifts within the Commonwealth during the early postwar period. These issues also set the scene for ever more heated debate on apartheid at the UN after 1952 and Pretoria’s withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961.