Coming down on the winning side: Britain and the South Asia crisis, 1971

Smith, Simon C.

Abstract

The 1971 South Asia crisis demonstrated that Britain, despite the contemporaneous discussions which were taking place over British accession to the European Economic Community, continued to possess global interests. After a brief period of neutrality in the growing conflict between India and Pakistan, the government of Edward Heath leaned decisively towards the former. This contrasted with the American 'tilt' in the other direction, towards Pakistan. The resulting differences of approach between the Heath government and the Nixon White House reflected a wider pattern of division between British and American policy makers over Asia rather than any attempt by Heath to underscore his European credentials by distancing himself from the USA.

Citation

Smith, S. C. (2010). Coming down on the winning side: Britain and the South Asia crisis, 1971. Contemporary British History, 24(4), 451-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2010.518410

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2010-12
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Contemporary British History
• Print ISSN: 1361-9462
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 451-470
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2010.518410
• Keywords: Political Science and International Relations; Development; Cultural Studies; History; Safety Research
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/464228
• Contract Date: Nov 13, 2014