CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Whitman, Alexander David |
|---|---|
| Title | Manifestations of Diplomacy: U.S. and British Response to the Balkan Wars |
| Summary | The purpose of this thesis is to explore the diplomatic history of the United States and Great Britain through their responses to the Balkan Wars, 1912-1913. While most research into the diplomatic involvement of the Balkan Wars attempts to place it either as a prelude to World War I or as the final chapter of the long 19th century, this thesis examines the two wars as a discreet moment in diplomatic history. Great Britain and the United States were chosen for comparison due to their dissimilar trajectories of global prominence. Additionally, as each empire was highly dependent upon the other in order to maintain its diplomatic policies, this thesis explores the differences between U.S. and British diplomacy in order to show how each contributed discreetly to international reaction to the Balkan Wars. Situated before the destruction of World War I, yet removed enough from 19th century international politics so as to allow countries like the U.S. to develop novel forms of diplomacy, the Balkan Wars offer a unique glimpse into the diplomatic trends of two vastly different centuries. In order to compare the U.S. and Great Britain this thesis analyzes the historical diplomatic traditions underscoring each nations’ policy. These findings are then contrasted with contemporary news reports on the Balkan Wars in order to demonstrate the self-reinforcing tendency of historical legal precedent and public opinion. The cyclical relationship between precedent and reaction are examined for unifying themes. The commonalities between the two categories make up the diplomatic culture of each nation. These diplomatic cultures are then compared so as to explain the differing diplomatic responses of Great Britain and the United States regarding the wars in the Balkans. Drawing on methods of analysis established by Walter Russell Mead and Pamela J. Dorn Sezgin, this thesis establishes the diplomatic culture of the United States to be economically motivated and that of Great Britain to be geographically motivated. Furthermore, it demonstrates how this difference in diplomatic culture dictated the differing responses by the two nations to the Balkan Wars. |
| Supervisor | Esmer, Tolga |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/whitman_alexander.pdf |
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