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Reader in International History, Queen Mary University of London

Since joining QMUL in 1997, I have specialised in the history of international affairs, focusing on alliance politics, conflict and diplomacy after 1945.

I am Director of Research in the School of History and Programme Director for the MA in Modern and Contemporary British History. I have commented on Britain’s international relations on BBC television and BBC Radio 4, and I have written articles for BBC Knowledge magazine and History Today.

I concentrate on the history of Britain’s relationships with Europe and the United States after 1945 and, more widely, on the history of the Cold War and European integration.

I have written two books. The first, Threatening Europe: Britain and the Creation of the European Community, 1955-58 (link is external), asked why the British did not join the European Economic Community at its inception.

The second, The United States, Britain and the Transatlantic Crisis: Rising to the Gaullist Challenge, 1963-1968 (link is external), examined how the Americans and the British defended Atlantic partnership, European security and unity in 1960s Cold War Europe. I am now moving on to the post-Cold War era to write about the Anglo-American relationship and the Iraq War.

Experience

  • –present
    Reader in International History, Queen Mary University of London