University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2013 Distant Relations: A Study of Identity, Ethics and Power in the Relationship Between Britain and the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Harmer, Nichola http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/1575 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. DISTANT RELATIONS: A STUDY OF IDENTITY, ETHICS AND POWER IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OVERSEAS TERRITORIES By NICHOLA HARMER A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science December 2012 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on the condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. ABSTRACT Nichola Harmer DISTANT RELATIONS: A STUDY OF IDENTITY, ETHICS AND POWER IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OVERSEAS TERRITORIES This thesis contributes to new understandings of the contemporary relationship between Britain and the fourteen remaining United Kingdom Overseas Territories. By examining the discourse of social and political elites in Britain and in several Overseas Territories, it identifies the significance of the role of identity in shaping perceptions and relations between these international actors. The thesis explores how understandings of the Overseas Territories as either part of, external to, or occupying an intermediate position with regard to the British state, shapes power relations and ethical considerations in the relationship between Britain and the territories. The importance of identity in this analysis contributes empirically and theoretically to a constructivist research agenda in which inter-subjective meaning attributed to international actors holds equal weight to power and material factors. Contents List of Illustrations and Tables ................................................................................... 8 Chapter One: Introduction ....................................................................................... 11 1.1 Identity .................................................................................................................. 24 1.2 Ethics .................................................................................................................... 29 1.3 Power .................................................................................................................... 34 1.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 39 Chapter Two: The Academic Literature.................................................................. 42 2.1 Identity in the Academic Literature on the Overseas Territories ............................. 44 2.2.1 Overseas Territories as a category ...................................................................... 45 2.2.2 Individual territories and territory groupings....................................................... 49 2.2 Ethics in the academic literature ............................................................................ 60 2.3.1 Responsibility for the Overseas Territories ......................................................... 60 2.3.2 Responsibility for biodiversity ............................................................................ 62 2.3.3 The Overseas Territories and offshore finance .................................................... 62 2.3.4 The exile of the Chagos Islanders ....................................................................... 63 2.3 Power in the Academic Literature on the Overseas Territories ............................... 64 2.3.1 The benefits of dependency ................................................................................ 64 2.3.2 Power and empowerment: tensions ..................................................................... 67 2.3.3 Voices of empowerment ..................................................................................... 68 2.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 70 Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................................... 72 3.1 Combining three approaches ................................................................................. 73 3.1.1 A Classical Approach ......................................................................................... 73 3.1.2. A Constructivist Approach ................................................................................ 76 3.1.3. Quantitative contributions ................................................................................. 79 3.2 Philosophy of Research ......................................................................................... 80 3.2.1 Agency ............................................................................................................... 82 3.2.2 Levels of Analysis .............................................................................................. 83 3.3 A Case Study Approach ........................................................................................ 84 3.3.1 Case Studies ....................................................................................................... 84 3.3.2 Classification of the Overseas Territories ........................................................... 85 3.3.3 Selection of Case Studies ................................................................................... 95 3.3.4 Generalising from the Case Studies .................................................................... 97 3.4 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 98 3.4.1 Triangulation ...................................................................................................... 98 3.4.2 Official Documents ............................................................................................ 99 3.4.3 Fieldwork Interviews .......................................................................................... 99 3.4.4 Interview participants ....................................................................................... 101 3.5 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................... 103 3.5.1. Analysis of interview transcripts and documents ............................................. 104 3.6 Positionality and ethical considerations ............................................................... 107 3.6.1 Ethics in the research process ........................................................................... 108 3.6.2 Power and positionality .................................................................................... 111 3.7 Summary ............................................................................................................. 114 Chapter Four: British foreign policy and the Overseas Territories 1945-2012 .... 117 4.1 1945-1959: “What indeed is to be done with these places?” ................................ 118 4.1.1 Identity ............................................................................................................. 119 4.1.2 Ethics ............................................................................................................... 125 4.1.3 Power ............................................................................................................... 127 4.1.4 Summary .......................................................................................................... 132 4.2 Drawing boundaries and making bases: 1960-1979 ............................................. 132 4.2.1 Identity ............................................................................................................. 133 4.2.2 Ethics ............................................................................................................... 138 4.2.3 Power ............................................................................................................... 139 4.3 The South Atlantic: conflict and identity: 1980-1997........................................... 144 4.3.1 Identity ............................................................................................................. 144 4.3.2 Ethics ............................................................................................................... 147 4.3.3 Power ............................................................................................................... 149 4.4 White Papers and re-engagement: 1997- Present ................................................. 150 4.4.1 Identity ............................................................................................................. 151 4.4.2 Ethical issues ...................................................................................................