The collapse of British imperialism in Turkey, 1919 to 1923

This study traces the evolution of British foreign policy in reaching a settlement regarding Turkey from the abortive efforts at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to the peace treaty that emerged from the Conference of Lausanne in 1922-23. Notable attention is directed towards Britain's leaders and diplomats as they attempted to continue vicarious control of the eastern Mediterranean, to maintain the approaches to India, and to secure the oil-bearing territories of the Near East.; In pursuing the study of Britain's near eastern policies in the post-World War I years, the focus is three-fold. First, primary emphasis is given to relations between Britain and France, with secondary attention to relations with the other wartime partners, the United States, Italy, Greece and Russia. Second, emphasis is directed to the problem experienced by Britain, as well as by others, of reconciling national self-interests with the ideals of the "New Diplomacy." Finally, emphasis is given to Britain's painful progress towards acceptance of its diminished status in the new order that emerged following the war.; With many distracting complications at work against them both at home and abroad, British statesmen encountered grave difficulties in formulating near eastern policies which would at once serve Britain's interests and those of other concerned parties. The surface attempts to act in concert were negated by an underlying reversion to self-interest diplomacy and resulted in a Great Power schism. This schism, exacerbated by events in Europe and by the skillful manipulation on the part of the Turks in the Near East, ultimately defeated Britain's imperialist policy.; Yet, in the final peace settlement achieved at Lausanne, the underlying aims of British foreign policy were satisfied. This settlement, ultimately proving more enduring than any other treaty to emerge from the Great War, resulted in part from British tenacity in upholding vital national interest and from the negotiating skills of British diplomats. In the final analysis, however, its success stemmed from British acceptance of postwar realities. The British finally came to recognize their own weakened position and to acknowledge that old style European power politics and imperialism were objectionable in the postwar world.