Michael MccGwire
Michael Kane MccGwire | |
---|---|
Birth name | Michael |
Nickname(s) | Mike |
Born | 9 December 1924 British Defence Intelligence Staff |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Order of the British Empire |
Spouse(s) | Helen |
Other work | Specialist in International Relations |
Michael Kane MccGwire
Early life
MccGwire grew up in
He attended the
In May that year 17-year-old MccGwire went to sea as a midshipman, by which time half of the Dartmouth term who had graduated a year earlier had already lost their lives. In August he[3] was on HMS Rodney (a battleship famous for its role in the Bismarck sinking) when it took part in the celebrated Malta relief convoy named Operation Pedestal, in which 13 British ships were sunk but the oil tanker SS Ohio made it through.
Having been involved in the North African, Sicilian and then Normandy landings, he then moved to Motor Torpedo Boats, joining MTB 476 of the 30th MTB Flotilla as a
At the end of WWII MccGwire was on a British destroyer in the Pacific. Then in 1946-47 he moved to a frigate in the Mediterranean, HMS Whitesand Bay, on the Palestine Patrol, which involved leading boarding parties and taking control of the ships that were illegally carrying Jewish immigrants to Palestine.
In September that year the Royal Navy sent MccGwire to
In 1952 MccGwire joined
Promoted to commander on 31 December 1958,[6] he undertook further study in the UK and USA. As a 'war planner' he worked in the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) in the US. It was his time in the US, working on a multi-national staff, that opened MccGwire's eyes to what one can achieve when unconstrained by deeply ingrained service deference and loyalties. At that point he realised that he wanted to join an international organisation such as the UN.
But before leaving the Royal Navy, MccGwire wanted to head up the Soviet Naval Intelligence Section in the
It was for his contribution to British naval intelligence that MccGwire received his
Academic career
His colleagues were surprised when MccGwire quit his promising naval career and retired in 1967 aged 42, having just been told that a promotion to Captain was imminent.
His aim was to work in the Third World as a Resident Representative of the
A new national quota system thwarted MccGwire's hopes of joining the UN. After a year as a lecturer in the postgraduate Strategic Studies programme at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in 1970 he became Professor of Maritime and Strategic Studies at Dalhousie University, Canada, a post gained on the basis of his experience and previous publications. He stayed there until 1979, publishing three edited books and playing the leading role in founding the modern study of Soviet naval power.
In 1979 he became a Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution, a highly respected think-tank in Washington DC, USA. It was here, at a time when the 'second Cold War' was underway, that MccGwire wrote Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy.[12] This was a seminal work, as it focused on the Soviet viewpoint and way of thinking, based on extensive analysis of Russian sources of information; whereas Soviet policy was usually analysed in terms of Western interests and vulnerabilities. It was published in January 1987, the same month as Gorbachev's speech to the Communist Party (CPSU) Plenum pushing glasnost and perestroika. The book traces the causes of this monumental reorientation of Soviet policy back to the bankruptcy of established Soviet policies, autonomous new rethinking, and concern about the danger of war, explaining the influence of military requirements on Soviet foreign policy.[13][14]
In January 1991, a year after the Berlin Wall came down, Brookings published MccGwire's follow-up book Perestroika and Soviet National Security, in which he was able to explain what led to perestroika and the resulting implications for future relations with Russia. Furthermore, whereas so many commentators assumed that perestroika was a direct result of the confrontational policies of the Reagan administration during the 1980s, MccGwire argued that Reagan almost certainly delayed the process.
MccGwire semi-retired in 1990, joining the University of Cambridge as a visiting professor for three years in their Global Security Programme. At Cambridge, he enlarged the terrain of security studies to include economic and social development, and environmental sustainability, while continuing to argue for an end to nuclear deterrents.[15]
In 2006 MccGwire participated in the national debate on whether to
Understanding Soviet strategy
MccGwire was best known for the 'MccGwire thesis': that the Soviet military buildup during the Cold War was largely due to fear of attack, and was thus a defensive measure. He confirms this with extensive empirical analysis of military strategy, and by querying political motivations. He strongly challenged the prevailing Cold War view that Moscow was planning pre-emptive military aggression against the West. This view, he said, had been based on preconceptions, inadequate analysis and poor understanding of Soviet policy-making by Western intelligence, and could have had severe repercussions. His first article in the Naval Review argued against Britain's nuclear deterrent for this reason, and many other articles and two books later followed. For example, he argued that the type of armaments added to Soviet vessels in the 1950s showed that they were added to protect trade routes.[5]: 97
MccGwire developed 'objectives analysis' to track changes in military hardware and strategy, based on painstaking analysis of personnel, equipment and geopolitical intentions. Despite this, the British and USA military never fully accepted the 'MccGwire thesis' as it became known.[12]
At Brookings, he challenged the Reagan military build-up as provocative and unnecessary. He was a frequent public commentator, including a televised debate against the leading
Personal life
Michael MccGwire was married to Helen (d. 2020), formerly an occupational therapist and author of a children's storybook. They lived in
MccGwire died on 26 March 2016 at the age of 91.[1][21]
Bibliography
- MccGwire, M.K. 2016. A Midshipman's Tale: Operation Pedestal Malta Convoy – August 1942. Leaping Boy Publications. ISBN 978-0993594748
- MccGwire, M.K. (ed.) 1973. Soviet Naval developments: capability and context. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275287474
- MccGwire, M.K., K. Booth and J. McDonnell, (eds.) 1975. Soviet Naval policy: objectives and constraints. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275097202
- MccGwire, M.K. & Hardt JP. 1976. Naval power and Soviet oceans policy. Center for foreign Policy Studies, Dalhousie University.
- Also published in Soviet oceans development, Congressional Research Service, 94th Congress, 2nd session, October 1976, pp. 77–182
- MccGwire, M.K. and J. McDonnell, (eds.) 1977. Soviet Naval influence: domestic and foreign dimensions. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275097202
- MccGwire, Michael (Summer–Fall 1985). "Deterrence: The Problem—Not the Solution". SAIS Review. 5 (2). Johns Hopkins University Press: 105–124. .
- MccGwire, M.K. 1987. Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0815755524
- MccGwire, M.K. 1987. The Genesis of Soviet Threat Perceptions. National Council for Soviet and East European Research. ASIN B00071575A
- MccGwire, M.K. 1991. Perestroika and Soviet Military Policy. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0815755531
- MccGwire, Michael (1994). "Is there a future for nuclear weapons?". International Affairs. 70 (2): 211–228. JSTOR 2625231.
- MccGwire, M.K. 1997. NATO expansion and European security. Volume 37 of London Defence Studies. London: Brasseys.
- MccGwire, Michael (1998). "NATO expansion: 'a policy error of historic importance'". Review of International Studies. 24: 1. S2CID 145479920.
- MccGwire, Michael (1998). "The Indivisible Continent: Russia, NATO and European Security". In McSweeney, Bill (ed.). Moral Issues in International Affairs - Problems of European Integration. )
- MccGwire, M.K. 2000. Weapons of Mass Destruction – A Confusion of Categories. Evidence to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs – Eighth Report. 25 July 2000. House of Commons.
- MccGwire, M.K. (2000). "Why Did We Bomb Belgrade?". International Affairs. 76: 1–23. .
- MccGwire, Michael (2001). "The paradigm that lost its way" (PDF). International Affairs. 77 (4): 4. ]
- MccGwire, Michael (2002). "Shifting the Paradigm". International Affairs. 78 (1): 1–28. JSTOR 3095972.
- MccGwire, Michael (2005). "The rise and fall of the NPT: an opportunity for Britain" (PDF). International Affairs. 81 (1): 1–28. .
- MccGwire, Michael (2006). "Comfort blanket or weapon of war: what is Trident for?" (PDF). International Affairs. 82 (4): 4. ]
- MccGwire, Michael (2006). "Nuclear deterrence" (PDF). International Affairs. 82 (4): 4. .
- MccGwire, Michael 2007. Rush to Judgement. Evidence to the Select Committee on Defence. The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent – Ninth Report. 27 February 2007. House of Commons.
References
- ^ a b "Michael MccGwire". Daily Echo. Bournemouth. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Booth, Ken (20 May 2016). "Michael MccGwire OBE (1924–2016)". Aberystwyth University. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- OCLC 965491931.
- ^ a b Downing College Alumni Association Newsletter 2015-16 – Obituaries (PDF) (Report). Downing College Alumni Association. 2016. p. 90. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-47977-6.
- ^ "No. 41618". The London Gazette. 27 January 1959. p. 653.
- ^ "No. 44484". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1968. p. 6.
- ^ Letter from Peter Kimm to Helen MccGwire, dated 29 July 1967.
- ^ "Scholarships and Prizes". Aberystwyth University. Archived from the original on 13 November 2004.
- ^ Blackburn, Jeremy (2000). "The History of Interstate". Aberystwyth University. Archived from the original on 27 August 2003.
- ^ Letter from John C. Garnet to his colleague Professor Trefor E. Evans, dated 19 June 1970, recommending MccGwire for the post of lecturer in the university's postgraduate Strategic Studies programme.
- ^ ISBN 978-0815755524.
- JSTOR 20043114. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ Blacker, Coit D. (July 1987). "Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy by Michael MccGwire, reviewed". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 43 (6): 55. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
- ^ MccGwire, M. K (24 September 2006). "Nuclear demonstration". Prospect: 126.
- .
- .
- ^ Cobban, H. 2010. Mike MccGwire on the Iraq war.
- ^ Burby, Jack (17 May 1987). ""Military Objectives in Soviet Foreign Policy" by Michael MccGwire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ MccGwire, M. (1991). Perestroika and Soviet Military Policy. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution.
- ^ "Commander Michael MccGwire – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0521474535. (essays in honour of Mike MccGwire)