Special Issue

'Going into Europe': Encounter Magazine, European Union and the British Establishment

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Abstract

This article focuses on the contents of Encounter magazine in 1962–63, the final years that it received secret indirect funding from the CIA. It demonstrates that the editorial policy of the magazine was staunchly pro-European and was often highly critical of British isolationism. In particular, this chapter examines in detail two symposia stage-managed by editor Melvin Lasky: ‘Going into Europe’ and ‘Suicide of a Nation?’ The first symposium, spread over four issues, canvassed the opinions of prominent intellectuals regarding Britain’s application to join the Common Market (they were in favour by a ratio 5:1) and contained an editorial from Lasky reacting to devastating news of Charles de Gaulle’s veto. The second symposium took the form of a special issue guest-edited by the Hungarian refugee, Arthur Koestler, and was provocatively titled ‘Suicide of a Nation?’ In this special issue, Koestler criticized Britain’s apparent failure to adapt to the post-war world. Other contributors, notably Michael Shanks and Andrew Shonfield, elaborated on modern Britain’s economic and social ills, advising the UK to join forces with a resurgent western Europe. This article argues that supporters of US foreign policy were an important force on British public debate regarding Europe and pays close attention to the dynamics of the Cold War as a shaping context for these symposia. It shows that contributions by controversial public intellectual Koestler shed light on aspects of the anti-Communist editorial policy of Encounter. This article closes by gauging the impact of these symposia on attempts to reform the British Establishment.

Keywords: Common Market, CIA, Cold War, British Establishment, European union, Encounter

How to Cite:

Harding, J., (2023) “'Going into Europe': Encounter Magazine, European Union and the British Establishment”, Journal of European Periodical Studies 8(1), 9–24. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/jeps.85541