The US "Culture Wars" and the Anglo-American Special Relationship

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Haglund
Keyword(s):  
Culture Wars ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
The Us ◽  
Anglo American

Reagan and Thatcher's Special Relationship

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally-Ann Treharne
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Pivotal Moments ◽  
Political Relationships ◽  
Latin American Region ◽  
The Us ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
Personal Diplomacy ◽  
The Cold War

Reagan and Thatcher’s Special Relationship offers a unique insight into one of the most controversial political relationships in recent history. An insightful and original study, it provides a new regionally focused approach to the study of Anglo-American relations. The Falklands War, the US invasion of Grenada, the Anglo-Guatemalan dispute over Belize and the US involvement in Nicaragua are vividly reconstructed as Latin American crises that threatened to overwhelm a renewal in US-UK relations in the 1980s. Reagan and Thatcher’s efforts to normalise relations, both during and after the crises, reveal a mutual desire to strengthen Anglo-American ties and to safeguard individual foreign policy objectives whilst cultivating a close personal and political bond that was to last well beyond their terms in office. This ground-breaking reappraisal analyses pivotal moments in their shared history by drawing on the extensive analysis of recently declassified documents while elite interviews reveal candid recollections by key protagonists providing an alternative vantage point from which to assess the contentious ‘Special Relationship’. Sally-Ann Treharne offers a compelling look into the role personal diplomacy played in overcoming obstacles to Anglo-American relations emanating from the turbulent Latin American region in the final years of the Cold War.

Friend or Foe? The US Invades Grenada

2015 ◽  
pp. 93-144
Author(s):  
Sally-Ann Treharne
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
International Community ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Caribbean Island ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Eastern Caribbean ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
British Commonwealth ◽  
The Uk

The US-led invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada at the alleged behest of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on 25 October 1983 had a profound negative impact upon the development of the Special Relationship under Reagan and Thatcher. The dubious legality of the intervention was widely criticised by the international community, most notably the UK. And yet, it was the Thatcher government that bore the scars of considerable domestic criticism regarding the unlawful US involvement in the internal affairs of a member of the British Commonwealth. The US invasion of Grenada, or operation ‘Urgent Fury’ as it is otherwise known, raised important questions regarding the limits of British credibility and importance within the Anglo-American alliance.

scholarly journals The Special Relationship and the Anglo-Iranian oil crisis, 1950–4

1998 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVE MARSH
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Ideal Case ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Balance Of Forces ◽  
Oil Crisis

The Anglo-Iranian oil crisis of 1950–4 provides an ideal case-study for those interested in the postwar Anglo-American Special Relationship. This article investigates the oil crisis with two purposes in mind: first, to demonstrate how Britain and the United States struggled to adjust their bilateral relations in response to their changing postwar world positions; second, to show just how crucial both countries perceived the Special Relationship to be in the early 1950s. This is done by examining the American decision not to pursue a policy in the Iranian oil crisis that would undermine Britain's position, despite at times severe Anglo-American tension. It is concluded that the problems created by the changing balance of forces within the Special Relationship were mitigated in Iran by a combination of consanguinity and, more important, the US need for British help in its policy of global containment. In short, Anglo-American policy-makers perceived sufficient mutual need to persuade them to actively preserve and develop the Special Relationship.

Introduction

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Sally-Ann Treharne
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Margaret Thatcher ◽  
The Us ◽  
Anglo American

Individuals and relations between leaders play a role in international politics. The broadly parallel leaderships of President Ronald W. Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw a revival of the Anglo-American ‘Special Relationship’ in the 1980s. The quality and intensity of their personal rapport is frequently assumed to have played a role in this. Deepening Cold War tensions and a strong anti-communist rhetoric also played important roles in drawing the two leaders closer. A commonality of many critical interests, along with cultural, linguistic, political and filial ties, underpinned their growing attachment and friendship. In addition, pre-existing intelligence cooperation, defence and nuclear interdependence (most would say British dependence on the US) helped to forge strong links between both countries....

The years of transition: Anglo-American relatons 1961–1967

1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Dobson
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Far East ◽  
Economic Structure ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
World War ◽  
The Far East ◽  
The Us ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The Relationship

The term ‘Special Relationship’ can give the false impression that Britain and the US have related to each other in an unchanging way since the forging of close bonds during World War II. If, like the present author, one chooses to use this terminology it is important to identify how the relationship has changed over the years.This article focuses on the period 1961–67, which was an important period of transition. In 1961, Suez notwithstanding, it was possible for British leaders to continue to think in terms of drawing on unique links with the US, some of which had been forged in World War II and still existed, others which had been developed in their common struggle against communism. By 1967 some of these links had been broken and others greatly weakened for a variety of reasons. Britain's relative world power had continued to decline, thus reducing her usefulness to the US; Britain began to look seriously to the EEC for its future and away from the US, which, for its part, was becoming increasingly preoccupied with Vietnam and the Far East in general; the economic structure Britain and the US had designed to manage the free world's. economy and in the direction of which they had cooperated extensively began to breakdown; and finally after the Kennedy–Macmillan friendship there was no really close relationship between British and American leaders until the mid-1970s. Before looking at this period of transition, however, it is necessary to review an earlier era when the Special Relationship was unquestioned.

Atlantic Ambitions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Porter
Keyword(s):  
Great Influence ◽  
Bush Administration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Strategic Direction ◽  
The Us ◽  
Material Benefits ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
To Receive

This chapter analyses the Anglo-American relationship, and the ambition that by aligning with the United States and paying the ‘blood price’, Britain could win great influence over its strategic direction. Rather than subordinating itself to receive material benefits, British decision-makers believed that by aligning with the US in the War on Terror, they were generating the ability to steer a superpower that otherwise might run amok and jettison itself from the international community. The belief that Britain could have this leverage was encouraged by apparent success in steering the Bush administration towards the United Nations and its authority as the framework through which to confront Saddam. However, the experience of preparing and waging war as junior partner revealed the contradictions within the ‘special relationship’ mindset.

Decolonising the special relationship: Diego Garcia, the Chagossians, and Anglo-American relations

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 707-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER HARRIS
Keyword(s):  
Special Relationship ◽  
Empirical Reality ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Diego Garcia ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second World

AbstractIn this article, I challenge the prevailing concept of the UK-US ‘special relationship’ with a view to improving the concept as an analytic tool for researchers. As it stands, the special relationship draws attention to an uncommonly close bond between two state actors in the post-Second World War period, especially in terms of military cooperation. This conception imposes analytic costs – namely, an elision of imperialism as a feature of Anglo-American relations and a concomitant marginalisation of subaltern social actors. In response, I propose a reconception that posits the subaltern – third parties – as integral to the relationship, thus better capturing the empirical reality of Anglo-American relations past and present. Theoretically, I draw upon postcolonial International Relations scholarship and recent theories of friendship in international politics. Empirically, I present a case study of the US military base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands.

Portrait of an Institution: The US Embassy in London, 1945-53

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Colman
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Recovery Plan ◽  
Berlin Crisis ◽  
The Us ◽  
Cold War Era ◽  
Anglo American

AbstractThe US Embassy in London has long played a leading institutional role in the Anglo-American relationship, but few historians have examined that role. This article covers the early Cold War era of 1945-1953 — a formative period in the Anglo-American relationship — and considers issues such as the Embassy's organization, the range of work in which it participated and the contributions of the successive ambassadors. Prominent policy issues during this period included the European Recovery Plan and the Berlin Crisis. It is contended that the Embassy reached the peak of its peacetime importance under US Ambassador Lewis Douglas from 1947-1950, and that its most important role was in policy liaison. This liaison function stemmed from the need to coordinate British and US policies in the developing Cold War, and helped to lay the foundations for the long-term 'special relationship'. The article provides fresh insights into Anglo-American diplomatic bonds in a formative period.

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