The Governance Of Eden In Plights

It was not until the breakout of the World War II that Anthony Eden had become famous for his combat against appeasement policy. After the war begun, he served as a dedicated minister in Churchill's wartime cabinet and made a notable contribution to defeating fascist regimes of Germany, Italy and Japan. In postwar time, he continued his second-important role in the Conservative government led by Churchill and presented himself frequently as foreign minister in many countries. Without his outstanding diplomatic talent and endeavor, the solidarity of western world would not have been cemented, and the extreme tension between capitalist bloc and socialist bloc would not have been loosened, too. In 1954, Churchill's retirement left his successor a misery nation weltering in crises cropping up one after another, which exhausted Eden's mental and physical strength. Politically, continual strikes of working class isolated domestic situation far from tranquil, which was deteriorated by Eden's inaction. Economically, Britain was unsatisfied with the entrance conditions of European Communities and thus excluded from getting into the process of European integration. In military operation, British troops invade the sovereignty of Egypt in collusion with French and Israel armed forces at the price of exposed conspiracy and disastrous loss. Embarrassed by this diplomatic scandal, the"special relationship"between Britain and United States was open a crack. And at the same time, the decolonization of empire was going in deep, which could not be denied in spite of Eden's nostalgia for imperialistic glory. This thesis composed of four component chapters tries hard to analyze the political, economic and diplomatic difficulties encountered by Eden government in details.Chapter one introduces the domestic political plight, including the revival and counterattack of Labour Party, the influence of pressure group and public opinion, the polarization of Conservative Party and the upsurge of labour movement. Chapter two pays attention to economic crisis, especially to the durative deterioration of British economy and the consequences it caused. The second half of the thesis is where the keystone lies. Chapter three discusses the falling British Empire during Eden's tenure of office, which covers the decolonization promoted by international community and the independence of Sudan and Cyprus. Chapter four discourses upon the attitude of Britain toward European integration, the Suez Canal Crisis and Anglo-American special relationship, followed by the conclusion part which briefly values the historical role played by Eden government in British history.