When Diplomacy Fails Podcast

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.15: Foiled Abroad

Having been challenged passionately at home by a disbelieving political nation in the last episode, here we see this suspicion and fear transplanted to Britain’s supposed allies, and to the United Nations. It was within the UN that some of the sneakiest and indefensible behaviour took place, as Britain was forced to veto me...

PhD Thesis: Episode 5.1

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Are you sick of the Schleswig-Holstein question? Contemporaries of 1863-64 certainly were.

This complex dispute on the Dano-German border erupted into war in early 1864, when German Confederate forces accompanied by Prussians and Austrians, crossed the Rubicon into Schleswig. These two provinces had lon...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.14: Attacked At Home

Having orchestrated an Israeli-Egyptian war, the plan now was to issue an ultimatum, and for Anglo-French forces to swoop into Egypt to separate the two belligerents. Such a noble act, Eden believed, would cloak the fact that Britain and France were really there to oust Nasser, recoup prestige and occupy the Suez Canal for We...

PhD Thesis: Episode 4.2

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In this episode we conclude our analysis of the Trent Affair, by looking at how the crisis was resolved in Britain's favour, even if Palmerston couldn't get everything he wanted. The Union returned those Confederate commissioners it had seized on the high seas, but no apology was forthcoming. Since the idea wa...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.13: When A Plan Comes Together

1956 Episode 2.13 examines the final moments of peace between 25-29 October, as the conspiracy to attack Egypt and make it look like an accident developed further.

In Britain, the focus was on the legal argument still, even despite the clear problems which Britain’s legal advisors in the Foreign Office had in painting...

PhD Thesis: Episode 4.1

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In this chapter, we examine the Trent Affair of 1861-62. The crisis began when Union sailors seized Confederate officials from a British vessel - an act which, on the surface, may not seem like much, but which was more than enough to provoke an Anglo-American War. The only hope was for Britain to gain satisfac...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.12: Collusion and Delusion

1956 Episode 2.12 takes us to the 22-24 October 1956, where the war plan that would create the Suez Crisis was created, developed and signed by Britain, France and Israel in an unassuming Parisian suburb.

This process was, of course, far from straightforward or guaranteed to produce a result. It required the French reas...

PhD Thesis: Episode 3.3

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With Anglo-American tensions running dangerously high by 1845, how did the Earl of Aberdeen manage to overcome the rhetoric of national honour, to deliver a compromise solution on Oregon which all could be happy with? Settle in my history friend, as we assess a remarkable exercise in PR which changed the futur...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.11: A Protocol For War

The Sevres Protocol was neither developed nor signed in a day, and in the first two weeks of October, negotiations critically important to the later conflict were underway. At first, Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd hoped to make use of the UN Security Council to gain British satisfaction in Egypt, and for a time he was success...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.10: Israeli Sneaky

The Canadian, Australian and NZ governments were all uneasy at the prospect of war, and some, like the Canadian Foreign Minister Lester Pearson, advocated a diplomatic approach. While Eden forged ahead with an aggressive policy, torpedoing another conference on the Suez Canal in the process, he increasingly began to alienate ...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.9: The Fix Is In

We are almost ready to see these sneaky meetings take place, and for the infamous agreement take shape, but first, it is worth investigating another important and underrated angle of the Crisis. The key element of the Suez Crisis story that demonstrates how low Britain sank must be the manifest failure of the British Governme...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.8: Deception As Policy

While Eden worked feverishly to make the conflict he desired come together, the countless variables continued to haunt him. We see here a glimpse of a common theme which will occupy us later on – the use of legal arguments to support the Anglo-French operation, on the grounds that Nasser had infringed upon British ‘rights...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.7: Blind Intrigue

In spring 1955, Britain remained a premier power in the Middle East, while American representation in that theatre was not particularly impressive, save for the commercial connections which American citizens had with the different oil barons there. In the space of a year though, disquiet in the Middle East and several threats...

PhD Thesis: Episode 3.2

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The arrival of President James K. Polk quickly changed the tone and temperature of Anglo-American relations after 1842. Unwilling to give ground over Oregon, and making compromise incredibly difficult in the process, Polk challenged the peaceful goals of Peel and Aberdeen. Polk, arguably the American answer to...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.6: The Entente Rides Again!

We open our episode with a defining scene – President Nasser’s nationalisation of the Suez Canal. The nationalisation of the Canal was not the moment that the world flocked to condemn Nasser’s regime, as Anthony Eden may have hoped. For a time, the Egyptian leader would be seen as unstable, aggressive and unreasonable, ...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.5: Oh No Cairo

What did the French have to fear from Colonel Nasser, and how did this tie in with later Anglo-French agreements? The answers can be found here. Also of note in this episode is the moment when the Anglo-American loan to Nasser was cancelled, which meant that the Egyptian leader would be unable to construct his Aswan Dam.

PhD Thesis: Episode 3.1

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Having finished up the second chapter on the nature of insult, here in Chapter Three we look at a period which may be more familiar - Anglo-American relations 1838-46. We have covered this period before for our Diplomacy: Britain vs America series, but here we engage in much deeper analysis of the rhetoric of ...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.4: Britain Bitten

Here we see what kind of Government Anthony Eden led, and how he shook it up, or failed to shake it up, after he assumed the premiership in spring 1955. Anthony may have deserved his turn, but he would quickly exhaust the sense of goodwill he had built up over the years. In spite of his reputation for integrity and bravery wh...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.3: Egyptian Conniption

As the British government underwent a change and waved goodbye to great old men like Churchill, it was clear at the same time that this new government had no intention of changing its imperial tune. Egypt was a place to be held onto, not relinquished; Nasser was a figure to be loathed, rather than cooperated with; British pre...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.2: Suez, A Life

A French investment opportunity, an ancient idea, and a British masterstroke - discover in this episode how the Suez Canal became so monumentally important for British imperial interests in the latter 19th century, and how this interest was then carried over into the 20th century. After years of defending and expanding their ...

1956 - The Suez Crisis #2.1: Bitter French Pills

In this episode, we will examine the painful post-war experience of France, why it was so reluctant to let go of its colonies and how this caused it more damage in the long run. As an integral, but largely forgotten player in the Crisis, understanding the French angle is essential for us. On many occasions, the fractured Fren...

1956 Part Two Introduction: The Suez Crisis

1956 now enters its second season, and we are confronted with several pressing questions. How did the British, French, Israelis and Americans become involved in Egypt, and how did these events affect what was ongoing in Hungary? The incredible spectacle of these two simultaneous crises, both caused by very different forces, a...

PhD Thesis: Episode 2.4

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In this chunky episode, we finish our analysis of Chapter 2, and the idea of insults to national honour, by looking at an infamous case from 1850 - the Don Pacifico Affair. 

In this crisis, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston focused his ire on the offences committed by Greece. After several efforts t...

1956 1.15: Socialism Stays

1956 Episode 1.15 examines the final moments of Imre Nagy, as the Soviet noose tightened around him.   

But the Kremlin was not safe yet. Of particular concern to Moscow and to the Hungarians was the stance of Yugoslavia, as its embassy in Budapest provided asylum to Imre Nagy and 40 other individuals responsi...

1956 1.14: Lessons Learned and Forgotten

1956 Episode 1.14 analyses the Soviet response in the first week of November 1956, as the rug was finally pulled on Hungarian independence.   

Having already removed his country from the Warsaw Pact and requested Western assistance, Nagy was persona non grata in Soviet minds, yet this Hungarian communist was n...

PhD Thesis: Episode 2.3

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Welcome back to chapter two of my PhD thesis! Last time we concluded the First Opium War, and the conflict in Afghanistan, noting how Britain tended to treat powers outside of the West when insults were received. But how would Britain react to an insult which was plainly inconvenient to pursue? When Madrid ins...

1956 1.13: Crushing Hope

1956 Episode 1.13 examines the unlikely triumph of the Hungarians in Budapest, even as the Soviets schemed for revenge.   

After somehow wresting a ceasefire agreement from the Soviet Union, the Hungarian revolution appeared – against all odds – to be secured by 28th October. Yet, this was merely a pause f...

1956 1.12: Hope Springs

1956 Episode 1.12 examines a key moment when a Hungarian student protest exploded into something far more encouraging, and for the Soviets, far more dangerous.   

The demands of the protesters – joined by workers, peasants, Hungarian communists, soldiers and many more figures besides – were as disconcertin...

PhD Thesis: Episode 2.2

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Welcome back to Chapter 2 of the thesis! In this episode we continue our analysis of the First Opium War, by looking at the ongoing debates in Britain over strategy and morality. Was the very act of making war on China, and thus selling it more opium, inherently dishonourable, or did Britain have no choice but...

1956 1.11: Gone But Nagy Forgotten

1956 Episode 1.11 looks at what happened when Moscow decided it’d be a good idea to force Rakosi, the avowed Stalinist, to share power with Imre Nagy, his opposite in almost every respect.

Rakosi wished to maintain the status quo even as his favourite weapons like the secret police were taken away, yet Nagy recognised...