In 1919 and 1945, an English-speaking alliance had a seeming solidity born of victory. In the inter-war period, a British-led Anglosphere continued and even increased trading connections in times of crisis and remained a defence unit, while the Americans went into isolation, which was broken up by another war. After 1945, American hegemony of the Anglosphere, and the rest of the Western world, was a given and trumped the British Empire. This led to NATO, as the British imperial element of this ‘Anglo’ order was undergoing change. Australia and New Zealand could not join NATO, while Canada did, and formed ANZUS with the United States and without Britain. Trade divergence ensued, as Britain joined the EEC and the former Dominions went separate ways embedded in their regions. In the post-Cold War era, the Anglosphere remains one of the cornerstones of a global security structure, whereas, ominous for Brexit, in the important area of world trade, the Anglosphere has no relevance.
