British foreign and security policy under the Thatcher government, 1979-1984

• Project/Area Number: 18K12723
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 06020:International relations-related
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Okamoto Yoshitaka 金沢大学, 法学系, 講師 (10747827)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Project Status: Discontinued (Fiscal Year 2021)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2021: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 外交史 / 現代史 / イギリス外交 / 国際関係史 / 冷戦史 / 西洋史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research project focused on the period from 1979, the year when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the UK, to 1984, when tensions in East-West relations reached a crescendo. The project aimed to answer two questions: first, what objectives did the Thatcher government envisage for the UK's foreign and security policies, and secondly, what kind of role did the UK play in the policymaking process of the Atlantic Alliance when dealing with renewed Cold War tensions? The research findings were to be published as articles in peer-reviewed journals and as an English monograph. However, due to health issues, there have been delays in their planned publication.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的意義は、第1にその独自性が注目されがちなサッチャー政権期の外交・安全保障政策について、「サッチャー以前」の政策を踏まえた実証的分析を行い、その特徴を明らかにしたこと、第2にサッチャー政権期のイギリス外交について当時の緊張の度を高めていた東西冷戦下の西側同盟内政治力学の中に位置づけ、その多極性と重層性を明らかにする視座を提供したことである。