The Genesis of the Falklands (Malvinas) Conflict ― Argentina, Britain and the Failed Negotiations of the 1960s

Drawing on a wide range of British and Argentine sources, this book highlights the importance of the neglected 1960s as the decade in which the dormant Falklands (Malvinas) dispute became reactivated, developing into a dynamic set of bilateral negotiations on the question of sovereignty. Contrary to the conventional emphases on Argentine nationalism, British geopolitical interests and the islanders' self-determination, this book presents decolonisation itself as the process which both re-ignited the dispute and made its resolution more difficult. On the one hand, Argentina's reaction to the impact of British decolonisation on its claim to the islands and London's gradual acknowledgement of the unviability of its South Atlantic colony eroded the status quo. On the other hand, Argentine fears about the connotations of any bilateral agreement and Britain's concerns over the repercussions of the Falklands question on its remaining colonial agenda inhibited territorial change. The dispute was thus left in a limbo between a broken status quo and a frustrated sovereignty transfer - a situation that paved the road to the 1982 confrontation and to the current bilateral stalemate.

Martin Abel Gonzalez was a doctoral student in the International History Department at LSE, UK, between 2004 and 2011. He passed away in the summer of 2011 after completing this work.

Nigel Ashton was Martin Abel Gonzalez's PhD supervisor. He is Professor of International History at the LSE, UK.