Introduction
The US and Britain have enjoyed a unique relationship characterized by cooperation and mutual support. The special relationship between the US and England was first articulated by Britain’s Wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and it has continued to define the association between the two countries for decades (Sharp, 2009). The special relationship has seen Britain follow America’s lead in many international issues.
The UK has also avoided deep integration with the rest of Europe due to this unique connection with the US. This relationship offers the means through which Britain can enhance its status in Europe and in international affairs. However, the special relationship has at times prevented both nations from pursuing their national interests and weakened the position of Britain.
This paper will argue that while the special relationship between the UK and the US has been beneficial to both countries in the past, both nations need to downgrade this relationship and pursue relationships with other partners in order to better meet their respective national interests.
Why the Special Relationship should be Downgraded
The last two decades have witnessed significant shifts in geopolitical power around the globe. China has emerged as a significant power and the power of the European Union has increased. On the other hand, the power of the US and the UK has reduced significantly. Cohen (2013) confirms that the special relationship was advanced to help the UK regain some power even as global leadership went to the US.
These two powers do not exert as much influence on the international community as they did in the past. The special relationship has led to Britain being isolated from the influential European Union as the UK seeks to maintain consistency with the US (Wilkinson, 2009). With these considerations, it would be beneficial for both the US and the UK to abandon their special relationship and seek closer ties with other nations.
The special relationship has led to some negative political repercussions especially for British politicians. This was evident during Blair’s term in office where the US adopted a foreign policy that supported foreign invasions (Wallace, 2009).
Due to the special relationship between the two countries, Blair supported the aggressive foreign policies embraced by the US after 9/11 and he was vocal in his support of the controversial invasion of Iraq (Wither, 2003).
Blair did this in spite of the widespread opposition to US policy by members of his Labour Party Prime Minister Blair supported US foreign policies that led to the invasion of Iraq. This action led to negative public opinion against Blair and caused his premature departure from office on June 2007 (Wallace, 2009).
The value of the special relationship as a way of containing or preventing some undesirable foreign policies has reduced. Due to the special relationship, each party is supposed to offer unanimous public support for the other in return for private influence on policy (Hastings, 2008). In the post 9/11 years, Britain has offered support to the US on issues such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
This support has been given even when the public support for US policy by other Western powers was weak or absent. However, Britain has been unable to adequately exert private influence on US foreign policy. During the run up to the Iraq war, the UK was unable to persuade the US to pursue a more multilateral and diplomatic path.
This demonstrated to the world that the UK had little influence over Washington’s decision-making process (Reynolds, 2009)). This sentiment is expressed by Britain’s Ambassador to Washington, David Manning, who stated in 2003 that, “at the best of times, Britain’s influence on the US is limited” (Dumbrell, 2004, p.441).
The uniqueness of the relationship between the US and Britain has been eroded by other partnerships that both countries have formed. On the part of Britain, the European Union and its constituent member States have become important partners to Britain. The US has tried to build multiple relationships with other nations in order to increase its global economic and political influence.
Dumbrell (2004) observes that it has long been the norm for American diplomats to stress that the United States has “special relations” with many countries. Watt (2013) confirms this by noting that the US has alluded to a special relationship with France, which it referred to as “American’s oldest ally”.
A Case for Maintaining the Special Relationship
The special relationship between the US and the UK has enhanced the security of both nations. This relationship was initiated during the World War II years and it was defined primarily in security and military terms (Sharp, 2009).
In the early years of the special relationship, the UK was allowed access to the secret nuclear information held by the US due to its privileged position with the US. Dumbrell (2004) states that after 1958, London was provided with the nuclear technology that was up until then only possessed by the US.
The British nuclear deterrent program was made possible through cooperation with the US. Greater cooperation between the two nations in these areas has continued with positive outcomes. While the importance of the special relationship in bolstering the security of the US and the UK must be acknowledged, this importance is overplayed.
Security and the military have always been at the heart of the UK-US special relationship but the importance of these components has decreased since the end of the Cold War and the strengthening of NATO.
The close cultural ties that the US shares with the UK act as a positive force especially in US-European affairs. Successive UK governments have seen themselves as being in a unique position to act as a bridge between America and Europe. There are significant cultural differences between the US and Europe. The European culture favours adaptation and consensus as opposed to rigidity and aggression.
The culture is also more collectivistic as opposed to the highly individualistic culture of the US. These differences in attitude towards foreign policy and welfare result in some rift between the US and Europe. The special relationship, which is based on notions of “Anglo-America” and a shared culture between the two nations, places the UK in a unique position to bridge the differences between the US and the rest of Europe.
In spite of the shared culture between the US and the UK, Britain has shown a tendency to conform more closely to the European model. This tendency can be seen from the anti-American sentiments that many British citizens held after the invasion of Iraq (Dumbrell, 2004).
The special relationship between the UK and the US has helped to bolster the position of the UK on the global platform. After the end of the devastating Second World War, the US and the Soviet Union emerged as the two global superpowers. The UK, which had been the global power for centuries, was forced to take on a lower position.
However, the close alliance between the UK and the US ensured that the UK was able to maintain some of her former prestige (Marsh & Dobson, 2013). The apparent influence that Britain had with the US, especially in the early years of the special relationship, enhanced Britain’s standing in international affairs.
However, some critics have argued that the lesser partner status of the UK in the relationship might actually be damaging to London’s global standing.
The subservient status of London in the UK-US special relationship is evident from the instances where the UK has been forced to overlook its interests for the sake of maintaining an amicable partnership with the US (Zhang, 2010). Since the UK is the minor partner in the relationship, the international community does not hold the country in high regard in spite of the special relationship.
Conclusion
This paper set out to argue that the UK-US special relationship should be abandoned since its benefits to the two nations are limited. It began by tracing the beginning of this special relationship during the WWII era.
The paper has noted that this relationship has underpinned the foreign and defence policy of Britain for over 6 decades. It has noted that this emphasis on a special relationship has had some negative impacts especially on Britain. The special relationship might hamper the national interests of each nation since each partner might be required to support the policies adopted by its ally even if the policy is not the most astute for each country.
The two countries have also missed on the opportunity to form better relationships with other key players in the global affairs. Considering the negative effects of the special relationship, the UK and the US should reassess their relationship with the present global realities in mind.
References
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