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The project of European integration has always threatened traditional conceptions of national identity and sovereignty in member states of the European Community (EC), later the European Union. This is especially true in Great Britain, which has had an ambivalent relationship with the rest of Europe. This thesis presents a comparative analysis of two key moments in Britain's relationship with Europe, and thus two key moments for British national identity: the 1967 debate over British membership in the European Community, and the 1975 public referendum over remaining in the Community in which Britons voted to remain inside the EC by a majority of 67.2%. For both moments, it looks at the role that Prime Minister Harold Wilson played in the debates using Parliamentary records and declassified Cabinet papers, as well as the public discourse as seen in letters to the editors of regional British newspapers.In 1967, Britons were largely opposed to EC membership; in 1975 they voted in its favor. This shift can be attributed to a change in how Britons viewed their history. Under the leadership of Harold Wilson, Britons marshaled a new narrative of their history - particularly of their role in World War II - that shifted British national identity closer toward Europe. This shift was not permanent, but the point is that it never could be. National identity itself is impermanent. Though it can have constant pillars, it is ultimately the product of the specific historical narratives to which a nation subscribes. Different stories of the past imply different results for the future. Thus, by aligning behind a new historical narrative, Britons were able to shape their nation's behavior.

This historical investigation of U.S.-Turkish relations from the end of World War II to 1964 provides a greater understanding of the challenges inherent in the formation and implementation of U.S. policy in Turkey at a time when the Turks embarked on multiparty politics and a determined campaign to become a modern and distinctly European nation through ambitious economic development programs. Washington proved instrumental in this endeavor, providing financial support through the Marshall Plan and subsequent aid programs, and political sponsorship of Turkey's membership in international organizations such as NATO and the EEC. U.S. policymakers encountered various quandaries as they forged bilateral relations with the Turks, specifically reconciling democratization with Turkey's development and participation in the containment of communism. The Turkish government under Adnan Menderes demonstrated its reliability as a U.S. ally, providing troops to fight in the Korean War and cooperating in the construction of NATO bases and the modernization of its military, but it came under increasing pressure from the political opposition when its economic policies failed to secure long-term economic growth and stability. Starting in the mid-1950s the Menderes government adopted increasingly authoritarian measures to control dissent, a problematic situation for Washington, as it desired greater Turkish democracy while at them same time did not wish to compromise the growing American military presence in Turkey. The U.S. solution to dealing with Turkey's political tensions was one of nonintervention and detachment, an approach that produced greater Turkish resentment and compromised Washington's ability to manage the frequent crises of the 1960s including 1960's coup and the 1964 Cyprus crisis.

This dissertation analyzes the most significant events that took place in United States-European relations during the presidency of Richard M. Nixon, from 1969 to 1974. The first major study on transatlantic relations for this time period, it is drawn from newly released multi-lingual archival documents from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Richard Nixon Presidential Materials Project (NPMP), the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, the presidential libraries of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald R. Ford, the archives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), the British National Archives (Kew), and the Nixon tapes. Through a groundbreaking presentation of diverse events such as Nixon and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Henry A. Kissinger’s 1969 tour of European capitals, the condition of NATO after French withdrawal and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Nixon knockdown of and subsequent collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary regime on August 15, 1971, the 1973 American policy “The Year of Europe”, and the 1974 renegotiation of the terms of British membership of the European Community (EC), this study shows how while Nixon began his term of office in 1969 with a great public emphasis on close ties with Europe, over time Transatlantic relations were downgraded in importance by the White House as Nixon used Europe to launch more important foreign policy initiatives for which he is better known, including détente with the Soviets, rapprochement with the PRC, and bringing American military involvement in Southeast Asia to a final end.

New Zealand depends heavily on the United Kingdom as an outlet for its lamb. At present (December 1972), the United Kingdom is preparing to join the European Economic Community. Although there is no common European policy for sheepmeats, all member States do enforce the Common External Tariff of 20% (applicable to all imports). Various policy options are open to the British. If New Zealand could assess the implications, for its export revenue, of these different policies, it could try to ensure the implementation of the policy most favourable to New Zealand (or the least unfavourable). It is also important to determine the quantity of lamb that must be sold in other markets as a consequence of any restrictive decision by the Europeans. Therefore the primary objective of this thesis is to determine the lamb sales revenue accruing to New Zealand under different United Kingdom Government policies, and if possible to decide which is the “best” policy for New Zealand. Such policy evaluation involves the use of an econometrically based computer model. The thesis also has two secondary objectives. Firstly to test the structural sensitivity of any solution. Secondly to delineate aspects of lamb marketing strategies for New Zealand in which more research would be worthwhile. In order to place the present investigation in perspective Chapter 2 outlines some previous approaches to evaluation of economic policy alternatives. Chapter 3 develops the econometric model on which is based the computer model described in Chapter 4. To evaluate the alternative policies this computer model is altered by means of an experimentation phase (simulation) outlined in Chapter 5. Finally Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the study.