Marco Wyss
Biographic Data
| ID | 5423735 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Marco Wyss |
| GIVEN NAMES | Marco |
| FAMILY NAME | Wyss |
| SIGNATURE | WYß M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lancaster University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5202-5793 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 36 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Neo-Imperial Cold War? Biafra's Franco-African Arms Triangle
During the Nigerian Civil War, France became the main supplier of military assistance to the secessionist Biafra. In a neo-imperial pursuit to weaken the potential regional hegemon Nigeria, it secretly provided arms and ammunition to the Biafrans in collusion with Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon. Yet the driving force behind this Franco-African arms triangle was not the Elysée, but the Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Newly unearthed documentary…
The Diplomacy of Military Assistance: The Royal Navy Training Team and the Nigerian Civil War
This article studies the Anglo-Nigerian negotiations for a Royal Navy training team during the Nigerian Civil War against the background of Africa’s ‘phoney’ Cold War and Britain’s global strategic withdrawal. This allows it to show Britain’s diplomatic manoeuvres to simultaneously prevent provoking debilitating opposition against its tightrope policy of supporting Federal Nigeria against Biafra and safeguard its significant, predominantly econom…
The Nkrumah Factor: The Strategic Alignment of Early Postcolonial Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria
In stark contrast to the Nigerian Civil War, when the Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny supported the secessionist Biafran Republic against the Federal Military Government, early postcolonial relations between Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria were close. This ‘entente cordiale’ was underpinned by the friendship of Houphouët-Boigny and the Nigerian Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who were both anti-communist, pro-western, capitalist, an…
Europe and China in the Cold War: Exchanges Beyond the Bloc Logic and the Sino-Soviet Split
Once the Cold War dynamics had thoroughly engulfed the nascent People’s \nRepublic of China (prc) with the military intervention in Korea in October \n1950, China’s relations with divided Europe were cast in a new light. These relations, \nwhich evolved outside of the main international power nexus, have for \na long time been summarised as a story of Eastern bloc versus Western bloc \nconfrontation. Only very recently has a new generation of his…
The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces
The armed forces of Europe have undergone a dramatic transformation since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces provides the first comprehensive analysis of national security and defence policies, strategies, doctrines, capabilities, and military operations, as well as the alliances and partnerships of European armed forces in response to the security challenges Europe has faced since the end…
CSDP Military Operations
Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations, while still novel, are rapidly becoming a vital means through which Europe projects physical power and influence beyond its borders. This chapter analyses the EU’s multilateral, intergovernmental military operations, examining where and how the EU has pursued its emerging strategic interests around the globe. It first surveys the history and politics of the thirteen CSDP mweilitary operations …
The Challenge of Western Neutralism during the Cold War: Britain and the Buildup of a Nigerian Air Force
In the wake of decolonization, Britain wanted to maintain its strategic interests in Nigeria and to keep the newly independent African country in the Western orbit. Having abrogated a defense agreement in reaction to Nigerian domestic opposition, the British government counted on military assistance to secure its postcolonial security role. The British thus hoped to gain responsibility for the buildup of a Nigerian air force, which the authoritie…
The United States, Britain, and Military Assistance to Nigeria
In Nigeria, Britain asserted its post-colonial security role during and immediately after the transfer of power, and remained responsible for assisting the Nigerian armed forces. While the Americans recognized Nigeria's potential as an important partner in the Cold War, they preferred to focus on development aid. Washington was thus supposed to complement British assistance, while leaving the responsibility for the security sector to London. But …
Upside down: Reframing European Defence Studies
Since the end of the Cold War, the study of European defence has been dominated by a ‘Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-centric’ approach, while largely neglecting the comparative analysis of national defence policies. This article makes a conceptual and empirical case for turning the dominant research prism of European defence studies upside down by returning the analytical precedence to the national level. This approach privileges the c…
France and the economic community of West African states: Peacekeeping partnership in theory and practice
Since the late 1990s, French policy-makers have promised an indirect approach to African security in partnership with regional organisations. Yet this shift towards capacity-building, Africanisation and multilateralisation has not necessarily been followed, and forceful French military interventions in Africa have still taken place. This article thus aims to assess whether, to what extent, and why the theoretical convergence of France’s African s…
Whose ‘West Africa’? The regional dynamics of peace and security
The articles of this Special Issue show how theoretical perspectives, normative frames, discursive strategies and conceptual issues shape, and are shaped by, intervention practices and the dynamics of peace and security in West Africa. As they construe and construct understandings of West African conflicts, they impact and justify conflict management practices. Put another way, how one defines the region called West Africa is not disassociated fr…
A Post-Imperial Cold War Paradox: The Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement 1958–62
As the recent and current French military interventions in West Africa have illustrated, France succeeded in establishing long-lasting security relationships with its former colonies during the transfer of power. In Britain’s case, by contrast, decolonisation was largely followed by military withdrawal. This was not, however, for lack of trying. The episode of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement clearly illustrates that Britain, driven by its gl…
Neutrality and Neutralism in the Global Cold War: Between or within the blocs?
The volume places the neutral states and the NAM in the context of the Cold War and demonstrates the links between the East, the West, and the so-called Third World. In doing so, this collection provides readers an alternative way of exploring the evolution and impact of the Cold War on North-South connections that challenges traditional notions of the post-1945 history of international relations. The various contributions are framed against the …
Non-Alignment, the Third Force, or Fence-Sitting: Independent Pathways in the Cold War
In his recollection of recent events such as the Bandung Conference, the Soviet proposals for a unified and neutralised Germany, and the signing of the Austrian Treaty, veteran journalist Hanson W
Choosing Sides in the Global Cold War: Switzerland, Neutrality, and the Divided States of Korea and Vietnam
This article examines neutral Switzerland's recognition policy towards the divided states of Korea and Vietnam. Drawing comparisons with other neutrals, notably Austria and Sweden, allows us to assess the credibility of neutrality in the Global Cold War. All three neutrals explicitly or implicitly aimed to reinforce their neutrality through the principle of universality, which entailed the recognition of all regimes, no matter their political cou…
The Armed Neutrality Paradox: Sweden and Switzerland in US Cold War Armaments Policy
This article presents the first comparative study of US policy towards two European neutrals, Sweden and Switzerland, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, Sweden and Switzerland were integrated into the Western security regime through a series of diplomatic, economic and technological steps until certain parts of the Swedish and Swiss armed forces were hard to separate from their NATO counterparts. This pioneering multi-archival…
Documents Diplomatiques Suisses . Vol. 23: 1.1.1964–31.12.1966 , Ed. Sacha Zala et al
The aims of the editors of this twenty-third volume of the Documents Diplomatiques Suisses are ambitious. The mere 184 documents selected from the extensive holdings of the Swiss Federal Archives are supposed to cover the entire spectrum, and the most important issues, of Swiss foreign policy in the years from 1964 to 1966. Thereby, the volume aims to provide a tool not only for historians, but also for policy-makers, analysts, and journalists, a…
Arms Transfers, Neutrality and Britain's Role in the Cold War: Anglo-Swiss Relations 1945-1958
Great Britain was neutral Switzerland's main supplier of heavy weaponry during the early Cold War. Marco Wyss analyses this armaments relationship against the background of Anglo-Swiss relations between 1945 and 1958, and thereby assesses the role of arms transfers, neutrality and Britain, as well as the two countries' political, economic and military relations. By using multi-archival research, the author discovers "traits of specialness" in the…
The Advocate and Its Wealthy Client: Britain and Switzerland in the Early Cold War
In the immediate post-war period and during the early cold war, Britain regularly defended Switzerland's interests against the two emerging superpowers: the Soviet Union and especially the United States. This advocacy was not, however, altruistically motivated. In light of their experiences during the Second World War, British policy-makers could still see the benefits of a neutral Switzerland. But more importantly, the relatively wealthy Swiss w…
Documents Diplomatiques Suisses. Vol. 22: 1.VII.1961-31.XII.1963, ed. Antoine Fleury and Mauro Cerutti
This is the seventh volume of the post-war series of the Documents Diplomatiques Suisses, the Swiss equivalent of the Documents on British Policy Overseas or the Foreign Relations of the United States series. It covers the period between 1 July 1961 and 31 December 1963, which witnessed a further escalation of the Cold War and the inauguration of a new era in Swiss foreign policy under the stewardship of Friedrich Traugott Wahlen. A member of the…
Neutrality in the early Cold War: Swiss arms imports and neutrality
The aim of this article is to assess the sustainability of neutrality in the early Cold War. This issue is examined through the study of Switzerland's armament policy. The Swiss were able to maintain their status of a permanent neutral after the Second World War, and thus succeeded in upholding a centuries-long policy. Their armed neutrality, however, required modern weaponry. In search of this material Switzerland turned to the West, while refus…
Upside down: Reframing European Defence Studies
Since the end of the Cold War, the study of European defence has been dominated by a ‘Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-centric’ approach, while largely neglecting the comparative analysis of national defence policies. This article makes a conceptual and empirical case for turning the dominant research prism of European defence studies upside down by returning the analytical precedence to the national level. This approach privileges the c…
The Armed Neutrality Paradox: Sweden and Switzerland in US Cold War Armaments Policy
This article presents the first comparative study of US policy towards two European neutrals, Sweden and Switzerland, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, Sweden and Switzerland were integrated into the Western security regime through a series of diplomatic, economic and technological steps until certain parts of the Swedish and Swiss armed forces were hard to separate from their NATO counterparts. This pioneering multi-archival…
Non-Alignment, the Third Force, or Fence-Sitting: Independent Pathways in the Cold War
In his recollection of recent events such as the Bandung Conference, the Soviet proposals for a unified and neutralised Germany, and the signing of the Austrian Treaty, veteran journalist Hanson W
Neutrality in the early Cold War: Swiss arms imports and neutrality
The aim of this article is to assess the sustainability of neutrality in the early Cold War. This issue is examined through the study of Switzerland's armament policy. The Swiss were able to maintain their status of a permanent neutral after the Second World War, and thus succeeded in upholding a centuries-long policy. Their armed neutrality, however, required modern weaponry. In search of this material Switzerland turned to the West, while refus…
A Post-Imperial Cold War Paradox: The Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement 1958–62
As the recent and current French military interventions in West Africa have illustrated, France succeeded in establishing long-lasting security relationships with its former colonies during the transfer of power. In Britain’s case, by contrast, decolonisation was largely followed by military withdrawal. This was not, however, for lack of trying. The episode of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement clearly illustrates that Britain, driven by its gl…
The Challenge of Western Neutralism during the Cold War: Britain and the Buildup of a Nigerian Air Force
In the wake of decolonization, Britain wanted to maintain its strategic interests in Nigeria and to keep the newly independent African country in the Western orbit. Having abrogated a defense agreement in reaction to Nigerian domestic opposition, the British government counted on military assistance to secure its postcolonial security role. The British thus hoped to gain responsibility for the buildup of a Nigerian air force, which the authoritie…
Neo-Imperial Cold War? Biafra's Franco-African Arms Triangle
During the Nigerian Civil War, France became the main supplier of military assistance to the secessionist Biafra. In a neo-imperial pursuit to weaken the potential regional hegemon Nigeria, it secretly provided arms and ammunition to the Biafrans in collusion with Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon. Yet the driving force behind this Franco-African arms triangle was not the Elysée, but the Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Newly unearthed documentary…
France and the economic community of West African states: Peacekeeping partnership in theory and practice
Since the late 1990s, French policy-makers have promised an indirect approach to African security in partnership with regional organisations. Yet this shift towards capacity-building, Africanisation and multilateralisation has not necessarily been followed, and forceful French military interventions in Africa have still taken place. This article thus aims to assess whether, to what extent, and why the theoretical convergence of France’s African s…
Choosing Sides in the Global Cold War: Switzerland, Neutrality, and the Divided States of Korea and Vietnam
This article examines neutral Switzerland's recognition policy towards the divided states of Korea and Vietnam. Drawing comparisons with other neutrals, notably Austria and Sweden, allows us to assess the credibility of neutrality in the Global Cold War. All three neutrals explicitly or implicitly aimed to reinforce their neutrality through the principle of universality, which entailed the recognition of all regimes, no matter their political cou…
Neutrality in the early Cold War: Swiss arms imports and neutrality
The aim of this article is to assess the sustainability of neutrality in the early Cold War. This issue is examined through the study of Switzerland's armament policy. The Swiss were able to maintain their status of a permanent neutral after the Second World War, and thus succeeded in upholding a centuries-long policy. Their armed neutrality, however, required modern weaponry. In search of this material Switzerland turned to the West, while refus…
The Advocate and Its Wealthy Client: Britain and Switzerland in the Early Cold War
In the immediate post-war period and during the early cold war, Britain regularly defended Switzerland's interests against the two emerging superpowers: the Soviet Union and especially the United States. This advocacy was not, however, altruistically motivated. In light of their experiences during the Second World War, British policy-makers could still see the benefits of a neutral Switzerland. But more importantly, the relatively wealthy Swiss w…
Documents Diplomatiques Suisses. Vol. 22: 1.VII.1961-31.XII.1963, ed. Antoine Fleury and Mauro Cerutti
This is the seventh volume of the post-war series of the Documents Diplomatiques Suisses, the Swiss equivalent of the Documents on British Policy Overseas or the Foreign Relations of the United States series. It covers the period between 1 July 1961 and 31 December 1963, which witnessed a further escalation of the Cold War and the inauguration of a new era in Swiss foreign policy under the stewardship of Friedrich Traugott Wahlen. A member of the…
Arms Transfers, Neutrality and Britain's Role in the Cold War: Anglo-Swiss Relations 1945-1958
Great Britain was neutral Switzerland's main supplier of heavy weaponry during the early Cold War. Marco Wyss analyses this armaments relationship against the background of Anglo-Swiss relations between 1945 and 1958, and thereby assesses the role of arms transfers, neutrality and Britain, as well as the two countries' political, economic and military relations. By using multi-archival research, the author discovers "traits of specialness" in the…
Documents Diplomatiques Suisses . Vol. 23: 1.1.1964–31.12.1966 , Ed. Sacha Zala et al
The aims of the editors of this twenty-third volume of the Documents Diplomatiques Suisses are ambitious. The mere 184 documents selected from the extensive holdings of the Swiss Federal Archives are supposed to cover the entire spectrum, and the most important issues, of Swiss foreign policy in the years from 1964 to 1966. Thereby, the volume aims to provide a tool not only for historians, but also for policy-makers, analysts, and journalists, a…
Neutrality and Neutralism in the Global Cold War: Between or within the blocs?
The volume places the neutral states and the NAM in the context of the Cold War and demonstrates the links between the East, the West, and the so-called Third World. In doing so, this collection provides readers an alternative way of exploring the evolution and impact of the Cold War on North-South connections that challenges traditional notions of the post-1945 history of international relations. The various contributions are framed against the …
Non-Alignment, the Third Force, or Fence-Sitting: Independent Pathways in the Cold War
In his recollection of recent events such as the Bandung Conference, the Soviet proposals for a unified and neutralised Germany, and the signing of the Austrian Treaty, veteran journalist Hanson W
Choosing Sides in the Global Cold War: Switzerland, Neutrality, and the Divided States of Korea and Vietnam
This article examines neutral Switzerland's recognition policy towards the divided states of Korea and Vietnam. Drawing comparisons with other neutrals, notably Austria and Sweden, allows us to assess the credibility of neutrality in the Global Cold War. All three neutrals explicitly or implicitly aimed to reinforce their neutrality through the principle of universality, which entailed the recognition of all regimes, no matter their political cou…
The Armed Neutrality Paradox: Sweden and Switzerland in US Cold War Armaments Policy
This article presents the first comparative study of US policy towards two European neutrals, Sweden and Switzerland, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During this period, Sweden and Switzerland were integrated into the Western security regime through a series of diplomatic, economic and technological steps until certain parts of the Swedish and Swiss armed forces were hard to separate from their NATO counterparts. This pioneering multi-archival…
A Post-Imperial Cold War Paradox: The Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement 1958–62
As the recent and current French military interventions in West Africa have illustrated, France succeeded in establishing long-lasting security relationships with its former colonies during the transfer of power. In Britain’s case, by contrast, decolonisation was largely followed by military withdrawal. This was not, however, for lack of trying. The episode of the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement clearly illustrates that Britain, driven by its gl…
France and the economic community of West African states: Peacekeeping partnership in theory and practice
Since the late 1990s, French policy-makers have promised an indirect approach to African security in partnership with regional organisations. Yet this shift towards capacity-building, Africanisation and multilateralisation has not necessarily been followed, and forceful French military interventions in Africa have still taken place. This article thus aims to assess whether, to what extent, and why the theoretical convergence of France’s African s…
Whose ‘West Africa’? The regional dynamics of peace and security
The articles of this Special Issue show how theoretical perspectives, normative frames, discursive strategies and conceptual issues shape, and are shaped by, intervention practices and the dynamics of peace and security in West Africa. As they construe and construct understandings of West African conflicts, they impact and justify conflict management practices. Put another way, how one defines the region called West Africa is not disassociated fr…
The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces
The armed forces of Europe have undergone a dramatic transformation since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces provides the first comprehensive analysis of national security and defence policies, strategies, doctrines, capabilities, and military operations, as well as the alliances and partnerships of European armed forces in response to the security challenges Europe has faced since the end…
CSDP Military Operations
Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations, while still novel, are rapidly becoming a vital means through which Europe projects physical power and influence beyond its borders. This chapter analyses the EU’s multilateral, intergovernmental military operations, examining where and how the EU has pursued its emerging strategic interests around the globe. It first surveys the history and politics of the thirteen CSDP mweilitary operations …
The Challenge of Western Neutralism during the Cold War: Britain and the Buildup of a Nigerian Air Force
In the wake of decolonization, Britain wanted to maintain its strategic interests in Nigeria and to keep the newly independent African country in the Western orbit. Having abrogated a defense agreement in reaction to Nigerian domestic opposition, the British government counted on military assistance to secure its postcolonial security role. The British thus hoped to gain responsibility for the buildup of a Nigerian air force, which the authoritie…
The United States, Britain, and Military Assistance to Nigeria
In Nigeria, Britain asserted its post-colonial security role during and immediately after the transfer of power, and remained responsible for assisting the Nigerian armed forces. While the Americans recognized Nigeria's potential as an important partner in the Cold War, they preferred to focus on development aid. Washington was thus supposed to complement British assistance, while leaving the responsibility for the security sector to London. But …
Upside down: Reframing European Defence Studies
Since the end of the Cold War, the study of European defence has been dominated by a ‘Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)-centric’ approach, while largely neglecting the comparative analysis of national defence policies. This article makes a conceptual and empirical case for turning the dominant research prism of European defence studies upside down by returning the analytical precedence to the national level. This approach privileges the c…
Europe and China in the Cold War: Exchanges Beyond the Bloc Logic and the Sino-Soviet Split
Once the Cold War dynamics had thoroughly engulfed the nascent People’s \nRepublic of China (prc) with the military intervention in Korea in October \n1950, China’s relations with divided Europe were cast in a new light. These relations, \nwhich evolved outside of the main international power nexus, have for \na long time been summarised as a story of Eastern bloc versus Western bloc \nconfrontation. Only very recently has a new generation of his…
The Diplomacy of Military Assistance: The Royal Navy Training Team and the Nigerian Civil War
This article studies the Anglo-Nigerian negotiations for a Royal Navy training team during the Nigerian Civil War against the background of Africa’s ‘phoney’ Cold War and Britain’s global strategic withdrawal. This allows it to show Britain’s diplomatic manoeuvres to simultaneously prevent provoking debilitating opposition against its tightrope policy of supporting Federal Nigeria against Biafra and safeguard its significant, predominantly econom…
The Nkrumah Factor: The Strategic Alignment of Early Postcolonial Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria
In stark contrast to the Nigerian Civil War, when the Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny supported the secessionist Biafran Republic against the Federal Military Government, early postcolonial relations between Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria were close. This ‘entente cordiale’ was underpinned by the friendship of Houphouët-Boigny and the Nigerian Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who were both anti-communist, pro-western, capitalist, an…
Neo-Imperial Cold War? Biafra's Franco-African Arms Triangle
During the Nigerian Civil War, France became the main supplier of military assistance to the secessionist Biafra. In a neo-imperial pursuit to weaken the potential regional hegemon Nigeria, it secretly provided arms and ammunition to the Biafrans in collusion with Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon. Yet the driving force behind this Franco-African arms triangle was not the Elysée, but the Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Newly unearthed documentary…
Law (20 works) · Political science (20 works) · Politics (20 works) · Law (16 works) · Cold war (13 works) · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics (12 works) · Political economy (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Economic history (9 works) · History (9 works)