The diplomatic career of Jan Christian Smuts

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Phillip Walter Dean (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Walter Luczynaki

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine all available public and private correspondence of Jan Christian Smuts in order to assess his impact upon international affairs. This examination shows that Smuts wielded great influence over men and events in Great Britain and in the Commonwealth and maintained this position throughout his long career in public affairs. Smuts seemed to fit naturally into the British context, and was increasingly given positions of trust and authority. He also achieved a personal harmony, apart from political views and policies, that penetrated to the great leaders of the world, as well as to humbler friends. Smuts saw safety for South Africa in the wholeness of the British Empire and realized that South Africa retained these privileges because the Empire remained an elastic and expanding institution, offering advantages in proportion as cooperation and understanding prevailed. He viewed the British Empire, the League of Nations, and later the United Nations as vehicles through which international cooperation could be realized. It was, as Smuts saw it, a hope for the future.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1976

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