Simon Rofe - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Simon Rofe
Franklin Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy and the Welles Mission, 2007
This description of Sumner Welles came from Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle in the immed... more This description of Sumner Welles came from Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle in the immediate aftermath of Roosevelt’s Quarantine address in October 1937 (the implications of which will be discussed). Yet it could have been applied at a number of key points, up to and including the Welles mission, during the subsequent 28 months as the Under Secretary made a crucial contribution to Roosevelt’s foreign policy. The chances of outright success in many of the policies considered were minimal, but this was not an impediment to enacting policy within the Roosevelt Administration.
Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy: A Diplomatic History
This work presents a new analysis of the mission undertaken by Under Secretary of State Sumner We... more This work presents a new analysis of the mission undertaken by Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles to Europe on behalf of President Roosevelt in February-March 1940. The thesis asks what Roosevelt's motivations were for undertaking the mission, and what he sought to achieve from it. It considers that the Welles mission was an expression of a number of influences upon Roosevelt that date back to late 1937. These influences, or themes, which provide the broader context and run throughout the period up to the beginning of 1940, are as follows: firstly the integral role in Rooseveltian foreign policy played by Sumner Welles is considered. The second theme concerns the position of his superior, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who was to counsel caution in the face of an increasingly serious world situation, whilst a third influence was the limits upon American foreign policymaking itself. The last element to be considered throughout this study is the influence of Anglo-American relations upon the Welles mission. Further, these themes are not distinct and are interrelated. And all were subject to the influence of an American public who were deeply interested in, but firmly against intervention in, European affairs. This work concludes that the mission that resulted developed multiple objectives after being bom out of a discussion between Roosevelt and Welles on the role the United States could play in achieving a sound and lasting peace in Europe. Such a hope, reckoned by Roosevelt to be 'one chance in a thousand', was at the outset incongruous with the situation in Europe. Roosevelt and Welles knew this to be the case, and pressed ahead because of the existence of other objectives that such a mission could achieve. These were the gathering of first-hand information by Welles from the four capitals of Europe, the perpetuation of Italian neutrality and the prolonging of the 'phony war'. These objectives were never clarified by the protagonists and evolved in themselves through the deployment of the mission, thus requiring the analysis provided here.
The International History Review, 2019
Diplomacy & Statecraft, 2016
Stanford University Press, 2017
This chapter investigates the central role of trust-building for the George H. W. Bush administra... more This chapter investigates the central role of trust-building for the George H. W. Bush administration and its crucial significance in navigating the political transformations of 1990–91. Portraying Bush's foreign policy as driven by an effort to establish trust among adversaries to minimize risk and maintain order, this chapter shows how Bush and his key advisers, Secretary of State James A. Baker III and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, crafted a strategy of personal diplomacy and caution. Analyzing in particular the demise of the Soviet Union in late 1991 as well as the 1990–91 Kuwait crisis, the chapter highlights the Bush administration's prioritization of reliability, steadfastness, and personal relationships in fostering a culture of mutual trust as key assets for U.S. foreign policy before.
The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 2016
The Olympic sporting context of 1908, with its tension between nationalistic competition and high... more The Olympic sporting context of 1908, with its tension between nationalistic competition and high-minded amateurism, provides insight as well into the transatlantic relationship between Great Britain and the United States during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and in the years following the prime ministerial tenure of…
Diplomacy & Statecraft, 2016
Franklin Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy and the Welles Mission, 2007
Once back in Rome Welles called upon the full range of his diplomatic skills and experience in pu... more Once back in Rome Welles called upon the full range of his diplomatic skills and experience in pursuing the mission’s objectives. His priorities, with the likelihood of the offensive shortening as every day passed, were to prolong the “phony war” and perpetuate Italian neutrality. Welles attempted to achieve these by maintaining a dialogue with Ciano and Mussolini that encouraged them to think of themselves as potentially pivotal to peace. Further, Welles hoped that the fact that he was still discussing Italy’s role might engender some doubt as to what might happen at the mission’s conclusion. This proved impossible as Mussolini set out to test how far Welles was prepared to involve the United States in the conflict in Europe. When Welles declined Mussolini’s offer to discuss the American’s views with Hitler, any doubts in the minds of Mussolini over the American position were dismissed. Welles knew he was in no position to make any commitment to European security on behalf of the United States in the spring of 1940. Mussolini’s offer in mid-March revealed the limitations that “exploring the possibilities of peace” had in terms of Welles creating the impression that the United States might play a part. In this situation Welles’ attention focused on the gathering of information in an environment where catastrophe appeared imminent.
Franklin Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy and the Welles Mission, 2007
This description of Sumner Welles came from Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle in the immed... more This description of Sumner Welles came from Assistant Secretary of State Adolf Berle in the immediate aftermath of Roosevelt’s Quarantine address in October 1937 (the implications of which will be discussed). Yet it could have been applied at a number of key points, up to and including the Welles mission, during the subsequent 28 months as the Under Secretary made a crucial contribution to Roosevelt’s foreign policy. The chances of outright success in many of the policies considered were minimal, but this was not an impediment to enacting policy within the Roosevelt Administration.
Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy: A Diplomatic History
This work presents a new analysis of the mission undertaken by Under Secretary of State Sumner We... more This work presents a new analysis of the mission undertaken by Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles to Europe on behalf of President Roosevelt in February-March 1940. The thesis asks what Roosevelt's motivations were for undertaking the mission, and what he sought to achieve from it. It considers that the Welles mission was an expression of a number of influences upon Roosevelt that date back to late 1937. These influences, or themes, which provide the broader context and run throughout the period up to the beginning of 1940, are as follows: firstly the integral role in Rooseveltian foreign policy played by Sumner Welles is considered. The second theme concerns the position of his superior, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, who was to counsel caution in the face of an increasingly serious world situation, whilst a third influence was the limits upon American foreign policymaking itself. The last element to be considered throughout this study is the influence of Anglo-American relations upon the Welles mission. Further, these themes are not distinct and are interrelated. And all were subject to the influence of an American public who were deeply interested in, but firmly against intervention in, European affairs. This work concludes that the mission that resulted developed multiple objectives after being bom out of a discussion between Roosevelt and Welles on the role the United States could play in achieving a sound and lasting peace in Europe. Such a hope, reckoned by Roosevelt to be 'one chance in a thousand', was at the outset incongruous with the situation in Europe. Roosevelt and Welles knew this to be the case, and pressed ahead because of the existence of other objectives that such a mission could achieve. These were the gathering of first-hand information by Welles from the four capitals of Europe, the perpetuation of Italian neutrality and the prolonging of the 'phony war'. These objectives were never clarified by the protagonists and evolved in themselves through the deployment of the mission, thus requiring the analysis provided here.
The International History Review, 2019
Diplomacy & Statecraft, 2016
Stanford University Press, 2017
This chapter investigates the central role of trust-building for the George H. W. Bush administra... more This chapter investigates the central role of trust-building for the George H. W. Bush administration and its crucial significance in navigating the political transformations of 1990–91. Portraying Bush's foreign policy as driven by an effort to establish trust among adversaries to minimize risk and maintain order, this chapter shows how Bush and his key advisers, Secretary of State James A. Baker III and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, crafted a strategy of personal diplomacy and caution. Analyzing in particular the demise of the Soviet Union in late 1991 as well as the 1990–91 Kuwait crisis, the chapter highlights the Bush administration's prioritization of reliability, steadfastness, and personal relationships in fostering a culture of mutual trust as key assets for U.S. foreign policy before.
The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 2016
The Olympic sporting context of 1908, with its tension between nationalistic competition and high... more The Olympic sporting context of 1908, with its tension between nationalistic competition and high-minded amateurism, provides insight as well into the transatlantic relationship between Great Britain and the United States during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and in the years following the prime ministerial tenure of…
Diplomacy & Statecraft, 2016
Franklin Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy and the Welles Mission, 2007
Once back in Rome Welles called upon the full range of his diplomatic skills and experience in pu... more Once back in Rome Welles called upon the full range of his diplomatic skills and experience in pursuing the mission’s objectives. His priorities, with the likelihood of the offensive shortening as every day passed, were to prolong the “phony war” and perpetuate Italian neutrality. Welles attempted to achieve these by maintaining a dialogue with Ciano and Mussolini that encouraged them to think of themselves as potentially pivotal to peace. Further, Welles hoped that the fact that he was still discussing Italy’s role might engender some doubt as to what might happen at the mission’s conclusion. This proved impossible as Mussolini set out to test how far Welles was prepared to involve the United States in the conflict in Europe. When Welles declined Mussolini’s offer to discuss the American’s views with Hitler, any doubts in the minds of Mussolini over the American position were dismissed. Welles knew he was in no position to make any commitment to European security on behalf of the United States in the spring of 1940. Mussolini’s offer in mid-March revealed the limitations that “exploring the possibilities of peace” had in terms of Welles creating the impression that the United States might play a part. In this situation Welles’ attention focused on the gathering of information in an environment where catastrophe appeared imminent.