British Propaganda and Wars of Empire: Influencing Friend and Foe 1900–2010

'Influence' is a slippery concept, yet one of tremendous relevance for those wishing to understand global politics. From debates on the changing sources of power in the international system, through to analyses of its value as an alternative to the active use of force as a policy instrument, influence has become a recurrent theme in discussions of international relations and foreign policy. In order to provide a better understanding of the multifaceted and shifting nature of influence, this volume looks at how the British government employed various forms of pressure and persuasion to achieve its goals across the twentieth century. By focusing on Britain - a global actor with great power objectives but declining physical means - the collection provides a wide range of case studies to assess how influence was brought to bear on a wide array of non-western cultures and societies. It furthermore allows for an assessment of just how effective - or ineffective - British efforts were at influencing non-Western targets over a hundred years of operations. By shedding important light on the efficacy of British efforts to sustain and advance its interests in the twentieth century, the volume will be of interest not only to historians, but to anyone interested in contemporary problems surrounding the operation of influence as a foreign policy tool.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface; Introduction, Greg Kennedy and Christopher Tuck; British propaganda and the protection of empire in the Far East, 1933-42, Greg Kennedy; Losing the game: propaganda and influence in the British Raj, 1917-47, Nick Lloyd; Propaganda and counter-propaganda on the Frontier, 1937-43, Christian Tripodi; Palestine 1945-48: policy, propaganda and the limits of influence, Kate Utting; Influence in British colonial Africa, Kate Law and Ashley Jackson; ’Two cheers for democracy’: empire, Cold War and British propaganda in Egypt, 1945-55, James R. Vaughan; British propaganda and information operations against Indonesia, 1963-66, Christopher Tuck; The British brand of anti-imperialism: information policy and propaganda in South Arabia at the end of empire, Spencer Mawby; Rebuilding a relationship: British cultural diplomacy towards China, 1967-80, Priscilla Roberts; Influencing political Islam: moderation, resilience and de-radicalisation in UK domestic counter-terrorism policies, 2005-11, Katherine E. Brown; Select bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Greg Kennedy is Professor of Strategic Foreign Policy at King's College London and joined the Defence Studies Department in June 2000. He has taught at the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, for both the History and War Studies Departments. He is an adjunct Professor of that university. His PhD is from the University of Alberta, with an MA in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Saskatchewan. He has published internationally on strategic foreign policy issues, maritime defence, disarmament, diplomacy and intelligence. Dr Christopher Tuck is a Lecturer with the Department of Defence Studies, King's College, London, based at the United Kingdom's Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC). Prior to this, he was a Lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He has an MSc Econ in Strategic Studies from the University of Aberystwyth and a PhD from Reading University. His other publications include Confrontation, Strategy and War Termination: Britain's Conflict with Indonesia (Ashgate, February 2013), and the co-authored Understanding Modern Warfare (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008).

Review :
’...the volume makes a good contribution to our understanding of British influence, and, by means of considering the volume’s shortcomings and its achievements, it ought to encourage historians to do more to tackle this important topic.’ Twentieth Century British History