Liberalism and the Cold War: The international thought of Jo Grimond

The story of IR liberalism is often told against the backdrop of the Cold War’s end. This has resulted in something of a lacuna when it comes to examining the role liberal thinking played during the conflict itself, as well as the impact Cold War thinking had on liberalism in IR theory. This chapter examines the thought of British liberal politician and ‘scholar-practitioner’ Jo Grimond, whose writings touched on questions of liberal political philosophy and on contemporary issues in British foreign policy during the 1950s and 1960s. The chapter argues an engagement with Grimond can help us account for some of the complexities and contradictions associated with liberalism’s view of the Cold War and can contribute to our understanding of liberal IR theory by highlighting a number of overlaps between Cold War thinking and the current preoccupations of liberal IR scholars.