本文探討英國格蘭斯敦政府對於一八七八年歐洲列強所訂柏林條約的態度及推行政策，由此闡明自由主義與帝國主義理念之調和與衝突。其討論重點為一八八○年四月自由黨主政後，至一八八一年末柏林條約中領土安排與主權問題大致解決為止，格蘭斯敦政府推展其倡議已久的東方政策時，所表現的政治理念及現實謀略。文分五節：首節導論，呈現柏林會議之前自由黨對東方問題的理念，及對柏林條約的批判；次節說明格蘭斯敦執政之初，所提解決東方問題的政策藍圖；第三節處理蒙迪內哥羅與希臘二國（掙脫土耳其控制）的疆界問題中，英國對鄂圖曼帝國的交涉立場，以及由此所反映的自由主義外交原則與困境；第四節討論賽普勒斯佔領與土耳其改革問題所展現的英國帝國主義概念，以及自由黨東方政策中的理想與實務之整合；結論以前述各節論述為依據，批判英國自由主義首度落實為外交政策的成敗得失，及其在文明史中的意義。大致言之，格蘭斯敦推動柏林條約的行動成效顯著，然正因此，自由主義的理想卻在成功應和強權政治的要求下逐漸幻滅。

This research expounds the Liberal Party’s attitude and policy towards the Treaty of Berlin, thereby revealing the conflict and reconciliation between classical liberalism and modern imperialism. In a broad sense, this thesis deals with the Liberal Party’s criticisms of the Disraeli Government’s Eastern policy since the Berlin Congress of 1878 and the Liberals’ standpoints towards the Turkish question from the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1878) till the fulfillment of the Berlin Treaty by 1882. Specifically, it treats of the Liberal Government’s policy in executing the Treaty of Berlin from the start of Gladstone’s second ministry to the end of 1881, when the territorial arrangements of the Treaty had mostly been disposed of. The paper is divided into five sections: 1. Introduction: The Eastern Question and the Liberal Party by 1880; 2. The Proposition of a Liberal Solution to the Turkish Question: the Gladstone Government’s Policy towards the Execution of the Berlin Treaty; 3. Legality, Justice and Power: the Montenegrin and Greek Questions; 4. Moral Influence or Imperial Command: the Liberal Policy on Turkish Reforms and the Cyprus Question; 5. Conclusion: Ideas and Practices in the Liberals’ Eastern Policy. In general, they explain the way the Liberals contributed – however differently from the Conservatives – to the expansion of the British Empire, and, paradoxically, to the overthrow of classical liberalism in the meantime.