We were always realistic: the Heath government, the European Community and the Cold War in the Mediterranean, June 1970–February 1974

The Mediterranean region and contemporary Mediterranean history fascinated Saki Dockrill. She discussed, often, with characteristic perspicacity, all aspects of American and British diplomacy and strategy in the region. For her, British concepts and attitudes to the Mediterranean were more nuanced and inclusive than American ones. She perceived these as having been moulded by emotion and strategic expediency in equal measure. It was this that made her all the more interested in how two American Republican administrations, in particular, dealt with the region. Both Eisenhower and Nixon had a ‘whole Mediterranean’ approach. This essay investigates the extent to which, during Edward Heath’s premiership (18 June 1970–28 February 1974), Britain’s preparations to join the European Community (EC) led to a ‘Europeanisation’ of its policies and approach towards the Mediterranean. It will examine also, how Britain sought to protect its interests in the Mediterranean during the years of détente with what had become, just, limited capabilities. In doing so, it will bring together some of the themes that were a constant source of interest to Saki, namely post-war British efforts to adopt a European role without compromising the ‘special relationship’ with the US and its world role