Date Thesis Awarded

5-2021

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

History

Advisor

Amy Limoncelli

Committee Members

Michael Butler

Amy Oakes

Abstract

In 1982, Britain and Argentina fought a war over the Falkland Islands, which had political and social effects on both countries. With a focus on the British side of the war, I argue that the Falkland Islands served as pawns in a game to advance Thatcher’s political career, to change the narrative of decolonization, and to unite the British people under a cohesive national identity through British nationalism. This argument is analyzed and supported by British newspapers, House of Commons records, and Margaret Thatcher’s speeches and memoirs. Politically, the Falklands War ensured the survival of Margaret Thatcher’s political career and secured her reelection following Thatcher’s extremely low popularity rating. During the war, the British government presented the Falkland Islands as an exception to British decolonization—a shift from opinions before and after the war. Socially, Margaret Thatcher used rhetoric from the Second World War to unite the British but created sentiments of jingoism instead of a cohesive national identity. The myths created during the war explain how the British government and Margaret Thatcher manipulated the Falklands to create a national narrative to serve a domestic purpose larger than the islands themselves.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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