{"id":11,"date":"2016-04-22T13:51:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T12:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/networksandactors\/?p=11"},"modified":"2016-04-22T13:51:34","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T12:51:34","slug":"organisation-networks-and-policymaking-in-european-foreign-ministries-in-the-twentieth-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/networksandactors\/2016\/04\/22\/organisation-networks-and-policymaking-in-european-foreign-ministries-in-the-twentieth-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Organisation, Networks and Policymaking in European Foreign Ministries in the Twentieth Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article relates to the genesis of this project. Subsequently we have broadened our scope to include developments of the 1960’s and 70’s.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

The thesis which this project seeks to test is that in both the British and French foreign ministries from the end of the First World War – when ideas of European integration gained ascendancy as a means to international security and prosperity \u2013 to the establishment of the European communities in 1957, permanent officials were at least as important as their political masters in promoting or blocking\u00a0 the path towards some form of European integration. Two principal research questions emerge from the project:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How were the foreign ministries of Britain and France organised between 1919 and 1957 in their dealing with questions relating to European integration\u00a0? In particular which foreign ministry departments (eg in the case of the British Foreign Office, the Central European Department, the Western European Department and the League of Nations Department) were the most powerful and influential in driving the policies of these two states in relation to Europe\u00a0: how did the power distribution fluctuate between the departments over time and how did this affect policy?<\/li>\n
  2. Who were the permanent officials formulating policy on key issues affecting Europe? In particular, what were the social and educational backgrounds of these actors? How did this cultural context and training influence their world view and lead to formal or informal networks of like-minded individuals championing particular positions within their respective foreign ministries? And how did all these factors influence the thinking of permanent officials when they considered the issue of a more integrated Europe?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The conference was intended to broaden this approach to other European foreign ministries across the whole of twentieth century Europe, broadly conceived, either through comparative perspectives or single state studies. Papers were asked to consider themes such as: :<\/p>\n