The Formation of the Department of Overseas Trade, 1919-26
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10072648 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ephraim Maisel (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 169-192 |
| Publication date | 1989-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/002200948902400107 |
| OpenAlex | W1993505869 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 2 |
The first world war led to an organizational and functional expansion of the Departments of State in general and the Foreign Office in particular. Their work and staff increased dramatically and there was a growing duplication of functions between the Foreign Office and neighbouring Departments. The inter-Departmental overlapping was not just a momentary wartime phenomenon, but an indication that, with the pace of modernization, the internal and external frameworks in which foreign policy had been conducted were faced with far-reaching changes. This phenomenon, which began in the nineteenth century, led to a redefinition of the.relation between foreign and domestic policy and to a gradual dismantling of the traditional barriers which separated the two. Consequently, decisions taken in one sphere were bound to have important repercussions in others, thus making neighbouring Departments into more active partners in foreign affairs, and necessitating a new division of work between them. Among these developments in the context of foreign policy in general and the status of the Foreign Office as chief adviser to the Cabinet on foreign affairs in particular was the politicization of economic and commercial affairs during the first world war. Although economic relations were inseparable from foreign relations in the age of mercantilism, in the century following the birth of liberalism, they were viewed, at the Foreign Office and in business circles, as the internal affair of the commercial community, which were to be divorced so long as equal opportunities for British trade in the markets of the world were preserved as much as possible from politics.' It is true that matters such as the Baghdad Railway question pervaded and at times even dominated foreign affairs, that in 1865 a Commercial Department was established within the
Business · Political science · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
| Citations per year | 0.23 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2013 - 2017 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |