Clarkson, Peter (2024) The Cod Wars: Actions and Consequences - An analysis of the decisions taken by the British government during the fisheries Disputes with Iceland, 1958-1976. Doctoral thesis, York St John University.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the three fisheries disputes between the UK and Iceland collectively known as the Cod Wars, and seeks to understand not how Iceland came to be seen as the victor but why the UK chose to accept defeat. These three disputes would see Iceland extend its fisheries jurisdiction beyond traditional territorial limits, thereby preventing the UK’s deep-water fishing fleet from operating within these newly claimed Icelandic waters. This thesis delves beyond the common misconception that the actions of Iceland defeated the frigates of the Royal Navy and examines the actions of the three successive UK governments responsible for resolving these disputes. It is evident that, notwithstanding the historiography, the UK’s deployment of frigates was not an exercise to maintain the status quo which would permit its fishing fleet to operate indefinitely in these fishing grounds. Archival material from the UK government is used to understand the motives of its political elites, who had not only to satisfy domestic concerns but also to contend with the emergence of new post-war global realities that saw coastal states move to extend their control beyond traditional territorial limits. These new realities and concerns dramatically shifted the UK’s stance on these disputes. To succeed in these aims and end each Cod War, the UK had to engage in realpolitik: although each dispute would be to the detriment of its own deep-water fishing industry, it was aware that, regardless of the domestic consequences, serious opposition to Iceland’s claims was an unrealistic, untenable position. The significance of this thesis is that the UK was not, in the Cod Wars, attempting to maintain a permanent fishing presence in Icelandic waters but to find solutions to repeated Icelandic claims.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D839 Post-war History, 1945 on
School/Department:	School of Humanities
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/11276

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