The formulation of British foreign policy : Britain, Russia, and Central Asia, 1904-1907

The purpose of this thesis is to examine one instance of the creation of British foreign policy in the period before the First World War in order to determine who created A maintained the pro-Russian policy that culminated In the making of the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. A careful examination of the Cabinet Papers, the British Documents on the Origin of the War, the memoirs and diaries of the participants, and other primary and secondary sources shows that a number of forces and personalities were involved in this instance of British policy formulation. The Foreign Secretary, the King, the Indian Government, the Foreign Office staff, and the India Office, as well as the Committee of Imperial Defence, interacted in the context of the often turbulent period, 1904— 1907, to gradually produce a consistent and coherent policy that favored making an agreement with Russia. Needless to say, this was a complex tale to tell, and some attention had to be paid to the background of this Anglo-Russian entente. Other issues, such as the significance of the Anglo-Russian Convention, the effect of German policy upon the state of Anglo- Russian relations, and the implications of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, arise, and are also dealt with in this study