Harold Wilson, Denmark and the Making of Labour European Policy, 1958-72

Broad, Matthew (Author)

ISBN 10: 1800857136 / ISBN 13: 9781800857131

Published by Liverpool University Press, 2021

About this Item

304 pages. 9.13x6.06x0.79 inches. In Stock. This item is printed on demand.

Seller Inventory # __1800857136

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Harold Wilson, Denmark and the Making of Labour European Policy, 1958-72
• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1800857136
• ISBN 13: 9781800857131
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.46 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

'In 1958, Britain and Denmark both advocated closer European cooperation through the looser framework of the Free Trade Area (FTA) rather than membership of the nascent European Economic Community (EEC). By 1972, however, the situation had changed drastically. The FTA was a long-forgotten concept. Its replacement, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), seemed economically and politically inept. Now, at the third time of asking, both countries were on the verge of joining the EEC as full members. This compelling analysis compares how the European policies of the British Labour Party and the Danish Social Democrats evolved amid this environment. Based on material from 12 archives in four countries, it updates our knowledge of key moments in both parties’ interaction with the integration story, including in the formative stages of the EEC in 1958¬–60 and the negotiations for British and Danish EEC membership in 1961–63, 1967 and 1970–72. More innovatively, this book argues that amid an array of national and international constraints the reciprocal influence exerted by Labour and the SD on each other via informal party contacts was itself a crucial determinant in European policymaking. In so doing, it sheds light on the sources of Labour European thinking, the role of small states like Denmark in the integration process, and the prominence of the Anglo-Scandinavian nexus in the broader narrative of British foreign policy in this period.'

About the Author

Matthew Broad is an EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow in the Department of Philosophy, Contemporary History and Political Science at the University of Turku, Finland.