Brian Roberts and the origins of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty

Polar Record ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Heavens
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Collaboration ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Documentary Evidence ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Political Settlement

ABSTRACTDuring his lifetime and beyond, Brian Roberts was often thought to be theéminence griseof the UK's Antarctic policy and also of the founding of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty. Documentary evidence of his influence has, however, been conspicuously absent, due in part to the closure of relevant files in the UK's National Archives. Using Roberts’ personal files in the archives of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, files in the UK National Archives that remained closed for 50 years but have recently been released, and the recollections of surviving contemporaries of Roberts, it has been possible to establish the extent of his involvement in the evolution of the treaty and to add new elements that may contribute towards a reconstruction of its complex history. From 1956 Roberts developed a productive relationship with the UK Foreign Office's Head of American Department Henry Hankey that enabled them to influence the UK policy on Antarctica and to make a significant contribution towards the political settlement represented by the treaty. For Roberts and his colleagues in the Foreign Office the main purpose of the treaty was not primarily the promotion of international scientific collaboration but was essentially a means of addressing a political situation that had become otherwise intractable.

John Arnfield Heap, CMG

Polar Record ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-267
Author(s):  
Mike Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Polar Regions ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
Polar Research Institute ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System ◽  
Research Institute

John Heap's whole working career was one devoted to the polar regions, primarily the Antarctic — as scientist, then as a distinguished, internationally respected polar diplomat, and finally to holding the Directorship of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge (Fig. 1). Much of the stability and innovative development of the Antarctic Treaty System during the crucial period of the 1970s and 1980s can be attributed to Heap's long tenure as Head of the UK Delegation to successive Antarctic Treaty meetings.

A ‘Sound Investment’? British Cultural Diplomacy and Overseas Students: The British Council's Students Committee, 1935–1939

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-283
Author(s):  
Alice Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Overseas Students ◽  
British Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Run Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second World

This article explores the UK government's first foray into cultural diplomacy by focusing on the activities of the British Council's Students Committee in the run-up to the Second World War. Students were placed at the heart of British cultural diplomacy, which drew on foreign models as well as the experience of intra-empire exchanges. While employing cultural internationalist discourse, the drive to attract more overseas students to the United Kingdom was intended to bring economic and political advantages to the host country. The British Council pursued its policy in cooperation with non-state actors but ultimately was guided by the Foreign Office, which led it to target key strategic regions, principally in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin.

United Kingdom Policy Towards Universal Jurisdiction Since the Post-War Period

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Amina Adanan
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Slave Traders ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Atrocity Crimes

Abstract From the 17th century onwards, Britain played a leading role in asserting the application of the universality principle to international piracy, the first crime to which the principle applied. Thereafter, during the quest for abolition, it exercised universality over slave traders at sea. With the exercise of universal jurisdiction over atrocity crimes in the post-War period there was a notable shift in the UK position to the principle. This article traces the history of UK policy towards the application of the universality principle to atrocity crimes since wwii. Using archival research from the UK National Archives and the travaux préparatoires to international treaties, it analyses UK policy towards the inclusion of universal jurisdiction in international treaties concerning atrocity crimes. It argues that historically, the UK supported the application of the principle to atrocity crimes committed during an international armed conflict, as this position supported its interests. The nexus between universal jurisdiction and international armed conflict shielded colonial abuses from prosecution in foreign courts. Once the colonial period had come to an end, there was a shift in UK support for the inclusion of universal jurisdiction in international treaties, which is evident since the negotiation of uncat and the Rome Statute.

scholarly journals Work and the Diaspora: Locating Irish Workers in the British Labour Market

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrietta O'Connor ◽  
John Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Qualitative Change ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
The Past ◽  
British Labour ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk

Irish migrant workers still make a significant contribution to the UK labour force, but this contribution is confined to particular occupation and industry groups. This paper begins with a brief review of the literature on Irish workers employment and an argument is developed that the work of Irish-born people in Britain is still both racialised and gendered. Then, using data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the work experiences of over one thousand Irish-born people in the UK are explored. The findings suggest that Irish-born men and women still work in the stereotyped occupations of the past. For example, most women work in public administration and health while twenty six per cent of men work in construction. The majority of Irish-born men work in manual skilled or unskilled jobs. The paper concludes that there has been no real qualitative change in the way that Irish-born workers experience employment in the UK.

Prologue: Dinner in Laeken (1989)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Segers
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Recent History ◽  
German Unification ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Two Sides

The period immediately following the fall of the Berlin Wall is key to studying the Netherlands’ role in European integration. After a brief moment of paralysing doubt, this unbelievable turnaround was celebrated as a victory after Europe’s horrific recent history. But when the dust began to settle, the Netherlands found itself in an uneasy position. The Treaty of Maastricht (1992) made German unification and European integration ‘two sides of the same coin’, catapulting the Netherlands into a political situation comparable to that of the 1950s. On the euro’s debut, the country once again became part of a continental circle in which France and Germany set the pace while the UK, Denmark and Sweden wished the Netherlands luck from the sidelines.

Organizing Collaboration

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-42
Author(s):  
Constantine Michalopoulos
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Global Poverty ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk

The story of Eveline Herfkens, Hilde F. Johnson, Clare Short and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, all of whom, with different titles became ministers in charge of development cooperation in the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and Germany in 1997–8, and what they did together to bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality in the war against global poverty, starts with a short discussion of their background. This is followed by a discussion of the political situation and the different government arrangements that determined development policy in their countries at the time. The last part of the chapter reviews the beginnings of their collaboration which focused on ensuring that the debt relief provided to highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) in programmes supported by the World Bank and the IMF resulted in actually lifting people out of poverty.

scholarly journals EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES AND TECHNICAL DETAILS

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 25-26
Keyword(s):  
National Archives ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Representative Selection ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Selection Of

Volume I of British Envoys to the Kaiserreich comprises a selection of official reports on Germany and Anglo-German relations sent to the Foreign Office from the diplomatic missions in Berlin, Darmstadt, Dresden, Stuttgart, and Munich between 1871 and 1883. All originals are held in the National Archives, Kew. As in the preceding series, British Envoys to Germany, the selection is based on the quality, originality of perspective, and informative value of the dispatches as well as on a balance between the individual missions. While not aiming to present a representative selection of letters from each mission, the edition is intended to cover the major developments of the period and present as multifaceted a picture of British perceptions of Germany as possible.

The UK Government’s Global Partnership Programme: Its Achievements Over the Past Five Years and Challenges Ahead

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Heyes
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global Partnership ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Nuclear Security ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Made In

Through the Global Partnership the UK continues to make a significant contribution to improve national and global security. Over the past year the UK has continued to implement a wide range of projects across the breadth of its Global Partnership Programme. As well as ensuring the Programme is robust and capable of dealing with new challenges, the UK has cooperated with other donor countries to help them progress projects associated with submarine dismantling, scientist redirection, enhancing nuclear security and Chemical Weapons Destruction. The Global Partnership, although only five years old, has already achieved a great deal. Some 23 states, plus the European Union, are now working closer together under the Global Partnership, and collectively have enhanced global regional and national security by reducing the availability of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) materials and expertise to both states of concern and terrorists. Considerable progress has already been made in, for example: • Improving the security of fissile materials, dangerous biological agents and chemical weapons stocks; • Reducing the number of sites containing radioactive materials; • Working towards closure of reactors still producing weapon-grade plutonium; • Improving nuclear safety to reduce the risks of further, Chernobyl style accidents; • Constructing facilities for destroying Chemical Weapons stocks, and starting actual destruction; • Providing sustainable employment for former WMD scientists to reduce the risk that their expertise will be misused by states or terrorists. By contributing to many of these activities, the UK has helped to make the world safer. This paper reports on the UK’s practical and sustainable contribution to the Global Partnership and identifies a number of challenges that remain if it is to have a wider impact on reducing the threats from WMD material.

The inevitability of digital transfer

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 224-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lale Özdemir
Keyword(s):  
Major Change ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transfer Rule ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Bodies

Purpose This paper aims to assess how prepared public bodies are for the transfer of born-digital records to the National Archives (TNA) of the UK in line with the reduction in the transfer rule from 30 to 20 years. Design/methodology/approach The change in the transfer rule means that records of UK public bodies will be transferred to TNA for permanent preservation at 20 years as opposed to 30 years old. This move, which has been described as a major change that is going to be introduced in a manageable and affordable way (20-year rule, The National Archives), will inevitably witness the transfer of born-digital records to the archives much earlier than would have been the case if the change in the transfer rule had not been made. This paper reports on research carried out in the winter of 2017 on the extent to which UK public bodies are prepared for the transfer of born-digital records to TNA. Research was based on a survey of 23 public bodies which included ministries, charities and non-departmental public bodies. The target population was predominantly public bodies that had the highest level of transfer of records to TNA. The justification for this lies in the fact that these bodies, amongst others, transfer the most records to TNA, thus it would be interesting to gain an insight into how prepared these relatively larger public bodies are with regard to born-digital transfer. The remaining public bodies were chosen randomly amongst non-ministerial departments. The primary areas under analysis are plans of public bodies for the transfer of born-digital records, processes for transfer to be undertaken such as selection, appraisal etc., the use of technology in sensitivity review and the trigger date for the transfer of records. Findings An analysis of the research findings found that while a few UK public bodies surveyed had transferred datasets within the framework of the TNA Government Datasets (NDAD) initiative or as part of an inquiry, only one public body had transferred other born-digital records to TNA. The findings also reveal that most public bodies are yet to plan for, or to adjust, their current archival processes to take into account the different mind-set and skills required for the transfer of born-digital records. The level of preparedness is therefore limited primarily because public bodies have yet to undertake a transfer of born-digital records to the archives. The research findings also revealed that public bodies had not as yet made adjustments or changes to current practice to take into account the issues relating to the processing of born-digital records prior to transfer. Research limitations/implications The findings of the research at hand are based on a survey submitted electronically to twenty-three public bodies with the aim of assessing how prepared they are for the transfer of born-digital records to the National Archives (TNA). The survey was sent to 27 public bodies with responses received by 23 public bodies. The survey sent to these bodies comprises eight questions that were deemed to be important in the current digital landscape with regard to the processes involved in the transfer of records, beginning from their creation. Thus, an element of subjectivity exists with regard to the outcome of the research, as the public bodies chosen were guided in prioritising any issues about digital transfer through the questions posed. The research carried out is also limited in that it focuses primarily on ministerial departments (14 of the 23 surveyed) and also constitutes a very small sample of UK public bodies overall. However, the originality of the data obtained through the study carried out by far outweighs the limitations of the research methodology. Originality/value This paper highlights that the transfer of born-digital records through original research amongst the 23 public bodies surveyed is not widespread, and that processes and procedures specifically for the management of processes for born-digital records are yet to be implemented. The study concludes that long-term planning for the transfer of born-digital records is yet to be undertaken and that public bodies are more likely to deal with the issue when their digital records are closer to reaching the point of transfer.

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