| Abstract
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On 2 November 1917, the British government formally issued the Balfour Declaration, one of the most important documents in defining the Middle East for the coming century. The Declaration laid the groundwork for the eventual creation of the state of Israel while at the same time problematizing the concept of 'nation' for the entire world. This dissertation looks beyond the two traditional explanations for why the Declaration was created: British martial and imperial wartime need or the moral obligation felt by some influential politicians to the world's Jewry. These accounts, while useful and necessary, only narrowly demonstrate the document's significance, exclude factors which helped to create it, and prevent an examination of those global realities which developed as a result of its issuance. Instead, this work examines the Declaration in terms of the global context, broadening the scope of the document's significance and creating a clearer picture of the global community as a composite of individual actors, regional pressures, and trans-regional realities. Crucial to this discussion is the impact ideals of race, gender, and nation had on policy-making structures and how events in Palestine, India, Kenya, Ireland and Europe influenced the Declaration's formation, issuance, and outcomes.
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