About this blog
This blog is primarily devoted to international relations from an Anglo-European perspective.
Other than that, do not leap to conclusions. That's all I ask.
September 2005 addition: This section is probably due for an update, but it mostly still stands. I'll get round to it when I have a spare moment. For now, this post gives a brief overview of the development of the place, and may be of interest.
The EU:
Yes, I know the strapline to this blog blathers on about "The musings of a non-partisan one-time Eurosceptic turned pro-European". This does not mean that I am an unthinking, uncritical loyalist drone of the Brussels machine. It does not mean that I cannot see that the European Union has major flaws.
I have retained a number of my Eurosceptic views; I have just come to the conclusion that the EU will be Britain's best bet in the long run. (Please note, this doesn't necessarily mean the EU in its current form, current aims, or current structures - and no, I am not a "federalist" in the way it is generally understood).
Feel free to disagree. Feel free to try to convince me otherwise. But - and no offence here, mind - it is unlikely you will succeed. I grew up in a staunchly and vocally Eurosceptic family. I bought the whole anti-EU case for years. I know it inside out.
I have also known - very well - one of this country's leading Eurosceptic voices (someone you will almost certainly have read and agreed with if you are strongly anti-EU) for my entire life. If anyone is going to convert me back, it will likely be him, not you. He hasn't succeeded yet.
I changed my mind. It may change back, it may not. Having changed it once, I am not arrogant enough to assume that I now have all the answers.
Political Stance:
Only one of the contributors to this blog is a member of a political party, and we all take the piss out of them for it permanantly. The rest of us are fairly vehemently nonpartisan. I, for one, despise the very concept of the party system of government, and wish it could be abolished without causing abject chaos.
This blog has usually been accused of being left-wing. Most of the contributors would describe themselves as liberals - but in the British, not American sense of the word. I would describe myself as a liberal internationalist one nation Tory royalist European with a hint of Whig and Benthamite utilitarian. (I'm a pretentious arse like that).
Things to remember are that we're all changing our minds on all the various issues all the time, and that many of the posts on here are written either for rhetorical/stylistic effect (we are all professional writers, after all, and like to experiment with ideas) or to work out our own views on particular matters. No post - in isolation - will provide you adequate information to work out our political views on all issues.
For Americans:
None of the contributors to this blog likes President Bush. At all. That does not, however, mean we don't like America. Accusations of America-bashing on here will be given short shrift - because it's lazy and it's tedious, and because we aren't really that interested. Bush is President, we have to live with it, that's fine.
And for all those who seem to care, here - for the record - is Nosemonkey's stance on Iraq:
Meh... What's done is done. That doesn't make it right, but nor does it mean that I care enough to enter into debate about it.
