John Wood

Thesis

I am beginning an archival based study into the diplomacy between the UK and China that led to the 1984 Joint Declaration which determined the framework of the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China in 1997. In particular I am interested in what the newly released materials from the archives will tell us about the wider international history of the later Cold War with a particular focus on the relations of the United States, China and UK axis. There are also wider questions about British and Chinese foreign policy-making, decolonization and democratization that this study may impact upon.

General Research Interests

The Cold War, Modern British History, Communism, Modern Chinese History, History of Hong Kong, Security Studies, Foreign Policy Making, Transnational historical approaches

Funding Awards

ESRC 1+3 Award 

John Wood is a Lecturer in International Politics and the Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Taiwan Studies.

He completed his PhD at Aberystwyth with a thesis titled ''The Future of Hong Kong"  - Britain’s Hong Kong policy and British Relations with China towards the Joint Declaration, 1970-1984'.

His main areas of interest is 20th Century History, with a focus on British Imperialism in Asia, the Cold War, Hong Kong and Taiwan.