The Labour Party and the World, Volume 1: The Evolution of Labour's Foreign Policy, 1900-51

This is the first book in a two-volume set that traces the evolution of the Labour party's foreign policy throughout the twentieth century and into the early years of the new millennium. This is the first comprehensive study of the political ideology and history of the Labour Party's world-view and foreign policy. It argues that the development of Labour's foreign policy perspective should be seen not as the development of a socialist foreign policy but as an application of the ideas of liberal internationalism. The first volume outlines and assesses the early development and evolution of Labour's world-view. It then follows the course of the Labour party's foreign policy during a tumultuous period on the international stage, including the First World War, the Russian Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, the build up to and violent reality of the Second World War, and the start of the Cold War. This highly readable book provides an excellent analysis of Labour's foreign policy during the period in which Labour experienced power for the first time. It is essential reading for students of British political history in the twentieth century, international relations and British foreign policy.