War Studies

A lot of ink has flowed on the educational and behavioural requirements necessary for military officers to attain a degree based level of ‘professionalism.’ The military must strike a balance so that it is strong enough to “conduct its own affairs” but does not become so strong as to “destroy the society it is intended to protect” (Feaver, 1996, 151-2). Yet not much has been written about the educational requirements and professional ethical standards for policy leaders in healthy civil-military relationships. We argue that a similar set of professional ethos should be developed for policy leaders so that they, too, may not “destroy the society” they serve. Policy students should learn how to define and manage integrated policy objectives. Civilian leaders have too often either been unable to make integrated policy decisions, or to articulate those policy preferences clearly to the military.

During the Second World War British support to occupied Yugoslavia’s resistance underwent an inexplicable and controversial about face that saw His Majesty’s Government (HMG) pivot support from Draža Mihailović’s Royalist Četniks to Josip Broz Tito’s Communist Partisans. This about face in policy has fomented a lasting debate, still very much alive in the current historical literature. This thesis will explore various explanations for this apparent shift in British policy by examining the principal historiography in the light of more recently declassified records. By taking a view of HMG policy evolution that focuses on influence and context this thesis will examine the evolution of British Yugoslav policy. The intention is to fill gaps in the literature and illustrate that previous narratives have been problematic due to archival limitations and issues of approach. This examination provides a new narrative by which to frame HMG Policy in Yugoslavia that has yet to be considered and which provides very different and intriguing explanations.