Gerald Hughes
Aberystwyth University, History & Welsh History, Department Member
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Book review
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... 49For a collection of essays and speeches (by Castro, Jorge Risquet and Gabriel García Márquez) propagandizing Cuba's role in Africa, see David Deutschmann (ed.), Changing the History of Africa: Angola and Namibia... more
... 49For a collection of essays and speeches (by Castro, Jorge Risquet and Gabriel García Márquez) propagandizing Cuba's role in Africa, see David Deutschmann (ed.), Changing the History of Africa: Angola and Namibia (Melbourne: Ocean Press 1989). ...
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... George Bernard Shaw1 1Preface to 'Heartbreak House', Bernard Shaw, Works of Bernard Shaw: Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, and Playlets of the ... And there were others, willing and able to cast light on SIS: in 1989 the... more
... George Bernard Shaw1 1Preface to 'Heartbreak House', Bernard Shaw, Works of Bernard Shaw: Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, and Playlets of the ... And there were others, willing and able to cast light on SIS: in 1989 the Conservative MP Rupert Allason (aka intelligence ...
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... I think history would have fulfilled itself, Yalta or no Yalta.'41 Secondly, the West German Wirtschaftswunder ('economic miracle') saw the ... Empire, the maintenance of the European balance of power and 'Splendid... more
... I think history would have fulfilled itself, Yalta or no Yalta.'41 Secondly, the West German Wirtschaftswunder ('economic miracle') saw the ... Empire, the maintenance of the European balance of power and 'Splendid Isolation'had all left enduring marks on the British political and ...
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ABSTRACT The scholarly study of intelligence has grown steadily into what is now a distinct sub-field of history and political science. Recent events – notably jihadist attacks on the US, Spain and the UK and the war on Iraq and its... more
ABSTRACT The scholarly study of intelligence has grown steadily into what is now a distinct sub-field of history and political science. Recent events – notably jihadist attacks on the US, Spain and the UK and the war on Iraq and its aftermath – have generated debate and controversy about the use and representation of intelligence. A plethora of official inquiries have fuelled debates into the ‘intelligence failures’ involved. This essay explores how lessons might be learned from the history of intelligence for contemporary debates and controversies. An overview of the issues includes discussion of how different approaches are apparent between American and British perspectives. Challenges and opportunities for applying lessons from the past are explored and a case is made for greater engagement between academia and officialdom.
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Strategic air power is one of the means by which a military strategy employs aerial platforms to bypass the battlefield to achieve decisive political results in conflict. Most obviously, this has involved the coercion of an enemy... more
Strategic air power is one of the means by which a military strategy employs aerial platforms to bypass the battlefield to achieve decisive political results in conflict. Most obviously, this has involved the coercion of an enemy nation-state by seeking to destroy its economic ability to wage war (as opposed to eliminating its armed forces). In Clauzwitzian terms, this represents a fundamental shift in identifying the enemy’s “center of gravity.” Debates over whether air power can achieve strategic goals date from the very first applications of it. The use of strategic air power requires systematic organization (e.g., RAF Bomber Command; the US Strategic Air Command) and, in addition to the use of strategic bomber aircraft, can be used in conjunction with missiles or tactical aircraft against targets selected to diminish the war-making capacity of the enemy. One of the aims for using strategic air power is enemy demoralization—that is, the racking up of punishment to the extent that...
... British attitudes were brilliantly satirized by Noël Coward in his 1943 song 'Don't let's be beastly to the Germans'which the ... British embraced an image of German malevolence and aggressiveness against a... more
... British attitudes were brilliantly satirized by Noël Coward in his 1943 song 'Don't let's be beastly to the Germans'which the ... British embraced an image of German malevolence and aggressiveness against a self-perception of decency and goodness.50 Keith Robbins concurs ...
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This article outlines and explores some recent changes that have taken place in the practice and organization of western intelligence. American concern with organizational reform of its intelligence community is outlined and contrasted.... more
This article outlines and explores some recent changes that have taken place in the practice and organization of western intelligence. American concern with organizational reform of its intelligence community is outlined and contrasted. Other transatlantic comparisons are made, in particular concerning debates about intelligence and human rights. The legacy of British experience in Northern Ireland for attitudes to torture and
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... 9John Ferris, 'The Internationalism of Islam: The British Perception of a Muslim Menace, 18401951', this volume. ... 9 John Ferris, 'The Internationalism of Islam: The British... more
... 9John Ferris, 'The Internationalism of Islam: The British Perception of a Muslim Menace, 18401951', this volume. ... 9 John Ferris, 'The Internationalism of Islam: The British Perception of a Muslim Menace, 18401951', this volume. ...
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... George Bernard Shaw1 1Preface to 'Heartbreak House', Bernard Shaw, Works of Bernard Shaw: Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, and Playlets of the ... And there were others, willing and able to cast light on SIS: in 1989 the... more
... George Bernard Shaw1 1Preface to 'Heartbreak House', Bernard Shaw, Works of Bernard Shaw: Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, and Playlets of the ... And there were others, willing and able to cast light on SIS: in 1989 the Conservative MP Rupert Allason (aka intelligence ...
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ABSTRACT This article explores a number of debates that have dominated intelligence studies since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. It examines a number of inherent tensions, involving individuals and institutions, which... more
ABSTRACT This article explores a number of debates that have dominated intelligence studies since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. It examines a number of inherent tensions, involving individuals and institutions, which threaten the long-term compatibility of the national security state with liberal democracy. The notion as to whether or not the use of extreme coercive measures (such as torture) can ever be justified is examined, as is the question as to whether such measures are self-defeating. The piece examines how liberal democracies seek to protect themselves in the light of rapid changes via a globalised media, the Information Revolution, and the proliferation of advanced technology and weapons of mass destruction amongst state and non-state actors. These issues are discussed with particular reference to the use of intelligence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea and other global trouble spots. Finally, the article speculates on the future of the increasingly enmeshed relationship between policy-makers, intelligence agencies and the media. It is concluded that, without a clear agenda for the modification of the mechanisms for accountability and oversight, this triangular relationship will, despite its interdependence, be fraught with increasing difficulties.
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... It asserted that Weiner had subjected the CIA to a 'combative and entertaining demolition job' as he exposed 'a history of bribery, coercion ... 53 Nicholas Vincent, 'Do you know?' Review of Huw Pryce and John... more
... It asserted that Weiner had subjected the CIA to a 'combative and entertaining demolition job' as he exposed 'a history of bribery, coercion ... 53 Nicholas Vincent, 'Do you know?' Review of Huw Pryce and John Watts (eds.), Power and Identity in the Middle Ages: Essays in ...
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This article evaluates the interplay between international sport and international politics during the cold war through an examination of the two Germanys and the Olympics from a British perspective. Germany was at the centre of Olympic... more
This article evaluates the interplay between international sport and international politics during the cold war through an examination of the two Germanys and the Olympics from a British perspective. Germany was at the centre of Olympic and cold war politics between 1945 and the early 1970s, and the two German states competed fiercely over questions of national legitimacy. West Germany was initially successful in denying international recognition to the ‘other’ German state. East Germany countered this by developing a strategy that utilised international sport, particularly the Olympic Games, to further its claims for statehood. While recognising the flaws in the West German case against East Germany, British policy was constrained by the need to accommodate Bonn's sensibilities, given that the Federal Republic was a major ally. An examination of this ‘Olympian’ struggle from a British perspective tells us much about the West's cold war strategy and casts new light on this a...
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ABSTRACT Despite its vocal left wing, the Labour Party was committed to the Western alliance from its inception in 1949. By the 1950s, this seemed imperilled by the newly rearmed Adenauer government's hard line towards the Soviet... more
ABSTRACT Despite its vocal left wing, the Labour Party was committed to the Western alliance from its inception in 1949. By the 1950s, this seemed imperilled by the newly rearmed Adenauer government's hard line towards the Soviet bloc. Antagonism towards the new Federal Republic was strengthened by the anti-militarism and anti-capitalism inherent in British socialism. In order to forestall internal party attacks on NATO, the leadership of the Labour Party sought to push West Germany towards a less intransigent anti-Communist position, more commensurate with facilitating East-West negotiation. Using Labour Party archives, this article seeks to demonstrate that Labour's anti-Adenauer policy was designed to marginalize the pro-GDR and anti-NATO factions within the Labour movement and strengthen support for a non-revisionist West Germany within NATO.
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... British attitudes were brilliantly satirized by Noël Coward in his 1943 song 'Don't let's be beastly to the Germans'which the ... British embraced an image of German malevolence and aggressiveness against a... more
... British attitudes were brilliantly satirized by Noël Coward in his 1943 song 'Don't let's be beastly to the Germans'which the ... British embraced an image of German malevolence and aggressiveness against a self-perception of decency and goodness.50 Keith Robbins concurs ...