Britain and the Dictatorships of Argentina and Chile, 1973–82

283 Pages·2018·2.84 MB·English

by  Grace Livingstone

Security, Conflict and Cooperation
in the Contemporary World
Britain and the
Dictatorships of Argentina
and Chile, 1973-82
Foreign Policy, Corporations
and Social Movements

GRACE LIVINGSTONE
Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the
Contemporary World
Series Editors
Effie G. H. Pedaliu
LSE Ideas
London, UK
John W. Young
University of Nottingham
Nottingham, UK
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Grace Livingstone
Britain and the
Dictatorships of
Argentina and Chile,
1973–82
Foreign Policy, Corporations
and Social Movements
Grace Livingstone
Centre of Latin American Studies
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World
ISBN 978-3-319-78291-1 ISBN 978-3-319-78292-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78292-8
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“The book is constructed by pioneering research of outstanding quality. It places
British foreign policy of the 1970s in a quite new and questionable light.”
—David Rock, Emeritus Professor of History, University of California, USA,
author of Argentina 1516–1987: From Spanish Colonization to Alfonsin
“Grace Livingstone provides a brilliantly original analysis of UK-Latin American
relations prior to the Falklands conflict. Her investigations into recently released
archives yield many important insights into the often murky fields of arms sales,
the politics of oil, and violations of human rights. Livingstone also develops orig-
inal and illuminating theoretical perspectives on her subject. Scholarly, compel-
ling and intellectually sophisticated, this book is outstanding.”
—John Dumbrell, Emeritus Professor of Government, Durham University, UK
“Meticulously researched, well-written and very convincing, this book is an
authoritative account of the making of British foreign policy towards the mil-
itary regimes of Argentina and Chile. It is an indispensable study of how both
Conservative and Labour governments tried to balance the competing forces
attempting to influence the policy-making process. I cannot recommend it too
highly.”
—Alan Angell, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony’s College, Oxford, UK
“In this major new study, Grace Livingstone contrasts the way in which British
Governments treated the military dictatorships in Chile and Argentina during the
1970s and 1980s, examining the conflicts between ministers and officials, and
the role of public opinion. It is an absorbing read which illuminates some dark
corners of British foreign policy.”
—Andrew Gamble, Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield, UK
“This is an exhaustive exploration of British National Archives covering
Pinochet’s coup in Chile in 1973 and the Argentine coup of 1976 leading to the
South Atlantic conflict in 1982. The resulting book provides a detailed analysis
of British foreign policy-making towards Chile and Argentina in the Cold War
years. The focus is on the diverging and contrasting attitudes of both Labour and
Conservative governments when dealing with Chile and Argentina. All in all, this
book is a must read for those interested in international relations, in the making
of British foreign policy, and in understanding the context that led to the 1982
conflict.”
—Celia Szusterman, The Institute for Statecraft, UK
“Grace Livingstone’s work marks an important contribution to the study of
British policy toward Latin America. Examining the informal networks of a wide
range of actors, from civil servants and politicians to business leaders and interest
groups, it demonstrates how the social class of officials influenced the policymak-
ing process.”
—Aaron Donaghy, EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow,
Harvard University, USA
“Grace Livingstone’s meticulous and detailed work to unearth and document the
execrable position of the FCO, its desk officers, section heads and embassy staff,
is wonderful. This book takes us behind the scenes to see how Foreign Office
ambassadors and civil service respond to and seek to mould the policies of gov-
ernments—nowhere more so than in their response to the 1973 military coup
in Chile. Conservatives wanted business as usual, Labour wanted an ethical for-
eign policy. Human rights campaigners wanted something stronger. Here, in tel-
egrams and briefing memos, you can see how it all played out. Grace Livingstone
has added a vital and previously missing component to our understanding of the
period.”
—Mike Gatehouse, former joint-secretary of the Chile Solidarity Campaign
C
ontents
1 Introduction: Making Friends With the Junta 1
2 Chile 1973–1982 35
3 Welcoming Pinochet’s Coup (1973–1974) 45
4 Ethical Foreign Policy? Labour Versus the Foreign
Office (1974–1979) 57
5 Tea with a Dictator: Mrs. Thatcher
and the General (1979–1982) 85
6 Chile Conclusion 115
7 Argentina 1976–2 April 1982 121
8 Business as Usual: Arming the Junta (1976–1979) 129
9 Oil, the Islands and the Falklands Lobby (1976–1979) 161
10 Befriending ‘Common or Garden’ Dictators
(1979 to 2 April 1982) 181
vii
viii CONTENTS
11 Antarctica, Oil and Leaseback: Britain’s Strategic
Interests in the Falklands (1979 to 2 April 1982) 205
12 Conclusion 233
Appendix A 241
Appendix B 243
Appendix C 249
Bibliography 253
Index 271
L t
ist of abLes
Table 9.1 Anglo-Argentine negotiations on the Falkland Islands
1966–1982 163
Table 9.2 British oil exploration around the Falkland Islands
since 1982 170
Table 10.1 British interests in Argentina in 1981 according to the FCO 184
Table 10.2 British arms sales to Argentina 1967–1982 195
Table 10.3 Major defence items agreed by British ministers for sale
to Argentina 1980–1982 which were either not bought
by that country or were not delivered 196
Table 11.1 Anglo-Argentine talks on the Falkland Islands 1979–1982 207
Table 11.2 The Falkland Islanders and British citizenship 225
ix