Abstract:
I was drawn to this topic of research by my interest in the European
movement its evolution over the past thirty odd years and, in
particular the British response to these developments. A great deal
has been written in this field for the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but there
is almost nothing on the war period itself. This seemed an important
gap, for the war was the context within which the nations of Western
Europe became open to the possibility of a radically new ordering of
the economic and political life of the Continent. And it was in the
context of the war that Britain rose to a position of unparalleled
prestige vis-a-vis her European allies who looked to her to provide the
leadership essential for such an ambitious undertaking. I have taken
the period from 1942-3 when the tide of war turned against the
Axis Powers and Allied victory was certain, to the end of 1945, when
the period of flux was ending and the first outlines of the Cold War
were already apparent. This thesis, then, is an attempt to contribute
something to the first chapter of the ongoing Britain-and-Europe debate
as it emerged from the Second World War - still a controversial issue
today.
