My Experiences of the Region during the Last Century – with Particular Reference to Sino-British Relations

The author describes his early diplomatic experiences as a Chinese language student during the Cultural Revolution, followed by his first posting to Peking. Hong Kong was then a major issue between China and Britain. He examines the tensions and difficulties of those years and the first signs of better days ahead. He details his involvement in the upgrading of diplomatic relations, and the first ministerial exchanges. His final overseas posting was to Hong Kong, first to head the Trade Commission, and then, importantly, to manage the final four years of detailed negotiations with China over the handover.     

Calling the tune? the CIA,the British left and the Cold War, 1945–1960

During the early Cold War period the United States Government covertly engaged in a variety of attempts to influence the politics of the British left. American ‘labor diplomats’ strove to fortify anti-communist elements in the trade unions; left-wing literary intellectuals were the target of the CIA's campaign in the ‘Cultural Cold War’; Labour Party politicians became involved in CIA-sponsored ventures designed to promote greater European and Atlantic unity. However, it would be a mistake to conclude that the US ‘called the tune’ of the British left. Such a verdict overlooks internal problems in the American campaign and underestimates the complexity — and ingenuity — of the British response.     

From a Positive to a Cultural Science: Towards a New Rationale for Political Studies

This article surveys developments in recent social theory in the course of outlining a new rationale for Politics following the subject's own expansion and in the light of developments in post-empiricist thought. It suggests reasons for thinking of Politics as a cultural rather than a positive science. It outlines a number of core or primary political problems which comprise the intellectual foundations of the discipline. It suggests, overall, that Politics is especially concerned with maintaining and improving the viability of human association(s) in the light of conditions created by the rise and expansion of complex societies.