Political rhetoric in the 19th and 20th centuries
Simon Mackley (History)
Connecting the South African question: the Boer and the Uitlander in British Liberal rhetoric, 1896-1899
As tensions rose between Britain and South African Republic in the months following the Jameson Raid of 1895, the South African question became an increasingly salient issue within British politics. This development was to divide the Liberal Party, as Liberal speakers sympathetic to the SAR increasingly sought to portray the Boers in a positive light, while those on the Liberal Imperialist wing of the party instead focused on the position of the migrant Uitlander or ‘outlander’ population.
This paper examines the rhetorical efforts of Liberal speakers to connect their supporters with the Boer and Uitlander populations of the Transvaal by stressing points of cultural similarity along race, religious and political lines. Exploring some of the elements common to both Liberal pro-Boer and Liberal Imperialist rhetoric, it is argued that such efforts represented a key aspect of metropolitan imperial politics in this period. Additionally, as rhetorical attempts to connect the imperial voter and the South African settler were often accompanied by comparisons between the South African question and other, non-imperial political debates, this paper further suggests that the Liberal response to the South African question is best understood within the context of wider, longer-term struggles over the question of Liberal identity.
Ettore Costa (History, University of Rome)
The Multilateral Force: a case of opposing trans-national network (1963-1964)
In 1962 the American policymakers desired to strengthen loyalty to the Atlantic Alliance and to counter the centrifugal tendencies in the European partners – especially the national deterrent possessed by Britain and desired by France and Germany – through the creation of the Multilateral Force (MLF), a complex organisation to pool and give access to nuclear warheads while still maintaining American control. This created a problem for the socialist leaders of Britain and Italy who had to conciliate the obligations of being part of an international alliance, the NATO, with the need to appease the desires of their national constituencies – both nationalist and anti-nuclear in nature. In September 1963 Nenni and Wilson developed a coordinated political response where the Italian socialists would obstruct the creation of the MLF for a year, so that Wilson would not find a fait accompli before winning the elections. Once in power, he could renegotiate or sink the MLF, removing a source of trouble for both of them. This was a rare successful episode of international cooperation that relied on socialist ties. It proved that the only answer to a trans-national challenge was not a retreat to the national environment, but to bring the political manoeuvres to the trans-national level.
James Parker (History)
Trade union political funds and Labour party finance in the 1930s.
Party finance was an issue of often pressing concern to the interwar British Labour party, and its heavy reliance in this period on the support of its affiliated trade unions in this regard is well-established. Indeed, finance formed an important element of the party’s relationship with the trade union movement, as well as Labour’s claim to be organisationally more democratic than its political rivals. It has been argued that there was ‘no real shortage’ of money forthcoming from the unions, but the often powerful image of union leaders as the party’s ‘sugar daddies’ is deeply misleading. This paper seeks to consider more closely Labour party finance during the 1930s – traditionally seen as a period of great union influence within the party. It examines the raising and expenditure of political funds by the major affiliated unions, and argues that their financial support for the party was far from unconditional: instead it was the product of often complex processes of negotiation within unions’ internal democratic structures, which were in turn refracted through the party’s ethos. It argues that analysis of such processes can help us reach a better understanding of Labour’s political culture in the period, as well as the broader role of trade unions as civil society organisations within British politics.
RushengNing (History, Fudan University)
‘In Shanghai, the Financial Crisis after 1911 Revolution’
After the outbreak of 1911 Revolution, a revolution finally ending the long lasting monarchism in China, the native banks in Shanghai faced another financial crisis. Because of the stringent capital, they have to resort to the Chinese banks that originated in 1897. Once upon a time, the latter can seek the help from the local government who can borrow money from foreign banks. But this time, this method didn’t work well. Meanwhile, the revolutionaries occupied the city and have to face the foreign forces and diplomatic problem in Shanghai. Unfortunately, they faced the financial embarrassment and tried to borrow the money from the native banks. Since the once local governor gave the bills to the foreign forces and without the bills the native banks can’t give the money. And then, the clash happened. Of course, we should notice that the foreign forces can’t be divided into two parts: foreign banks and foreign services, which have the connections with each other, also but not always identical. So, with the time advanced, different connections of different levels are entangled together, leading to the new era, or the reflection of the old?