Asia and European colonialism

  The article reviews the effects of “colonial discourse” for the interpretation of national history in colonized Asian nations. Eurocentric perspectives in early Western narratives and historiography were followed by postcolonial myths termed “cultural nationalism” after independence. The native intelligentsia had acquired modern concepts of nation, nationalism, progress, welfare, democracy and technological modernity from their erstwhile colonial masters. Once the “democratic honeymoon” following independence had turned sour the artificially conceived myths of “cultural nationalism” served to justify various dictatorial regimes. Yet this ideology fails at it is presently being challenged by globalization, representing normative and economic pressures to orient towards the one single dominant pattern of Western liberal capitalism in all spheres.     

British Diplomacy and the Telegraph in Nineteenth-Century China

Until the 1870s British officials in China often acted without the Foreign Office's official consent because they could only communicate with London via mail. In the 1870s telegraph lines connected China to Europe. The Chinese government initially opposed foreign telegraph lines arguing that they undermined Chinese authority. British diplomats in China were also wary of the telegraph because it allowed the Foreign Office to intervene more quickly. From the 1880s the telegraph was increasingly used as an instrument of imperialism in China. The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 showed how important the telegraph had become as means of communication.     

British Diplomacy and the Telegraph in Nineteenth-Century China

Until the 1870s British officials in China often acted without the Foreign Office's official consent because they could only communicate with London via mail. In the 1870s telegraph lines connected China to Europe. The Chinese government initially opposed foreign telegraph lines arguing that they undermined Chinese authority. British diplomats in China were also wary of the telegraph because it allowed the Foreign Office to intervene more quickly. From the 1880s the telegraph was increasingly used as an instrument of imperialism in China. The Boxer Rebellion in 1900 showed how important the telegraph had become as means of communication.     

British power and stability: the historical record

This article provides an overview of British foreign policy and the European balance of power from the late nineteenth century to the early Cold War. British attitudes towards the Continent, like those of the continental Powers toward Britain, are bound to remain ambivalent. When looking back to the history of these complex relations, two main readings stand out. The first is that Britain's attempts to underwrite European stability from Waterloo to the present day left the country exhausted and stripped of its Empire. The other reading perceives in these costly efforts a successful preservation of British integrity and independence. What allowed, for many years, the country to have the luxury of choices with regard to its relations with Europe was the underlying security of the home islands and the existence of a vast Empire overseas. Examining in broad brush strokes the idea and practice of the balance as Britain's international position altered in the half century or so before 1950, the case is made that whatever the reading of these complex relations, the British were always 'reluctant Europeans'.     

英殖民政府与印度教派主义的兴起

在近代以前 ,印度历史上的教派主义和教派冲突本来并不是特别严重。随着英国占领印度 ,并出于其殖民统治的需要对印度的穆斯林和印度教徒分别加以拉拢和利用 (实行所谓“分而治之”的政策 ) ,才使得印度的伊斯兰教徒与印度教徒从和睦共处和相互容忍的关系逐渐走向了互不信任 ,以至出现了双方的相互猜疑、忌恨甚至恶意攻击。而这一趋势的最严重后果 ,就是印度独立之初的印度教徒与伊斯兰教徒的暴力冲突和随之而来的印巴分裂。     

British Policy and the Ruhr Crisis 1922-24

This article provides an overview of British policy during a defining episode in the interwar period — the Ruhr crisis of 1923-4. The author assesses the external considerations influencing Britain's policy (especially the roles of France, Germany, and the United States), and also explores the processes of foreign policy making within Britain's complex bureaucratic system. In particular, the relationship between the Foreign Office and the Treasury is analyzed and its impact on European policy assessed. The article challenges traditional views of British policy at this time, concluding that it was far more complex, but also far more limited and constrained, than previous studies would suggest.     

英帝国的“推力”与布尔人的“民族大迁徙”

19世纪的布尔人民族大迁徙是研究南非历史无法绕开的一个问题,究其最重要和最根本的原因,英帝国的推力起到了关键作用。在成为开普殖民地的主人后,经过工业革命洗礼的英国殖民当局颁布了旨在促进殖民地资本主义生产的一系列农地制度改革措施,以及给予科伊人和班图黑人某种平等地位、实行自由雇佣制的第五十号法令与释奴法令,最终迫使布尔人集体逃离开普殖民地,深入内陆建立起德兰士瓦共和国和奥兰治自由邦,并在那里实行种族隔离政策,从而对南非的发展产生了深远影响。     

英国人的契丹认知与航海探险

英国人最早知道契丹,应源自1141年西辽契丹王耶律大石率部打败了塞尔柱突厥人之役。耶律大石由于此役被西欧十字军国度神化成了拯救基督徒和协助十字军东征的约翰长老,其所建立的西辽契丹也成了基督教的圣地。15世纪末,具备了远航能力的信奉新教的英国航海者梦想通过东北或西北海域以找到一条通往东方契丹的捷径,打破天主教势力对通往东方航道的垄断。这种寻梦型的海外探险持续了三个世纪,虽未打通去东方的新航路,英国人却因寻找契丹而收获了大量的财富和领地,最终认识到了所谓的契丹就是中国。     

《两匹马的对话》与英国“公众舆论”的形成

哈贝马斯指出作为政治公共领域前身的文学公共领域孕育于英国共和时期的咖啡馆中。在这一领域形成的过程中,作为文学公共领域的重要功能之一的文学公共舆论功能是在当时文学家的推动下建构而成。围绕关停英国咖啡馆这一历史事件,英国文学家也展开了一场通过文学作品干预公共事务的演习,其中安德鲁.马维尔的《两匹马的对话》一诗是文学公共领域践行公共舆论功能的典型个案。     

British nuclear non-proliferation policies towards Iran and the Middle East

The article argues that British non-proliferation policies towards the Middle East have had limited success because they are circumscribed by dependence on alliances and constrained by other factors such as Britain's historical legacy, its status as a nuclear weapons state and, especially through the European Union's engagement with the region, the communication of self-interest rather than credible pursuit of the declared objective of regional security-building. Despite promoting and implementing its own disarmament policies, Britain has been unable to overcome mistrust and perceptions of hypocrisy in the region in order to strengthen the non-proliferation regime. This is particularly evident in the dispute with Iran, which is examined in detail with the assistance of Adler's ‘double-damned dilemma’ model. The analysis argues that the Western coercive approach has facilitated the stalemate with Iran, because it has encouraged Iran's provocations and allowed it to respond with a strategy of denial. The analysis suggests that Britain and its allies adopt a defusing strategy which does not reduce the dispute to a proliferation problem, but treats Iran's behaviour as a quest for recognition. Britain has little influence on Iran, but might build on its relationship with Turkey to develop this approach in conjunction with its allies.     

Attitudes of the British Political Elite towards the Soviet Union

This article is an examination of the attitudes of the British political elite towards the Soviet Union and an assessment of the influence such attitudes had upon British foreign policy between March and August 1939. Through a detailed analysis of individuals including Cabinet ministers and those politicians elsewhere referred to as the 'anti-appeasers', the article contributes to the 'counterrevisionist' position concerning war origins. Thus it does not accept that the British government was constrained by factors outside of its control and instead argues that an Anglo-French-Soviet alliance was not concluded because of the failure of British ministers to put aside their anti-Soviet prejudices.     

Attitudes of the British Political Elite towards the Soviet Union

This article is an examination of the attitudes of the British political elite towards the Soviet Union and an assessment of the influence such attitudes had upon British foreign policy between March and August 1939. Through a detailed analysis of individuals including Cabinet ministers and those politicians elsewhere referred to as the 'anti-appeasers', the article contributes to the 'counterrevisionist' position concerning war origins. Thus it does not accept that the British government was constrained by factors outside of its control and instead argues that an Anglo-French-Soviet alliance was not concluded because of the failure of British ministers to put aside their anti-Soviet prejudices.     

《贝奥武甫》的英雄观与英国文化传统

从文化的发展和起源入手来探析一个国家、一个民族和一个文明发展的轨迹和脉络,才能真正从学理和实践层面对当下有着实际的启示作用。本文通过对英雄史诗《贝奥武甫》的英雄观这一角度来探讨英国早期文化精神的起源与发展。一个异教的民族英雄变成了一个虔诚的基督教护教者的形象,但又保留了日耳曼民族的独特性格特征,这本身就能说明到了8世纪至10世纪,英国文化已经形成了一种新的形态,不同于日耳曼民族传统文化,也不同于欧洲大陆的基督教文化,这种新的文化形态传统直接影响着英国历史的走向。     

英国的“分而治之”政策与印巴分治

印巴分治不仅影响了次大陆的经济文化发展,也给印巴两国人民带来灾难,至今两国之间及其国内的宗教种族冲突仍然没有摆脱分治的阴影.本文主要探讨英国的"分而治之"政策与印巴分治的关系,以及造成分治的其他原因.