Britain and America: Why So Special?
Despite occasional strains, the bond has generally strengthened over time.
By William Courtney and Eugene A. Procknow
On July 5, President Joe Biden called to congratulate new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and they discussed the “special relationship.” Why is it special? Some might cite the English language or British roots of many Americans. Others may say the framers of the U.S. Constitution took inspiration from Britain’s Magna Carta of 1215.
These ties help. But shared values and interests, and determined cooperation, are more important, from defeating Hitler to aiding Ukraine to promoting mutual prosperity.
In 1946, in his Iron Curtain speech, former Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke of a “special relationship.” He described close links, forged especially in world wars, and later deepened. Churchill also cited “kindred systems.” Democratic rule is the foundation.
The new UK government and the next U.S. administration should not take close relations for granted. Two years from now, Americans will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As Americans do, they might reflect on why our long-ago foe has become such a vital ally.
The new UK government and the next U.S. administration should not take close relations for granted.
In the Revolutionary War era, Americans believed they deserved the same rights as British citizens. After a bitter, eight-year insurrection, the British finally offered independence. Yet, resentments lingered. The British seized U.S. sailors and restricted trade with America. The War of 1812 erupted over maritime privileges. The British burned Washington and defended Canada, but an over-extended Britain could not capture contested Western territories. After this conflict, the former combatants settled boundary disputes peaceably.
Since those days, British and American ties have faced numerous strains. Nearly always, the two countries found sensible solutions, most of which strengthened their bond.
Britain interfered less in American affairs. In the Civil War, the British flirted with the Confederacy, hoping to sell arms to the South and buy cotton and corn. They backed off as Unionists became angered.
U.S. isolationism has long frustrated the British. As World War I broke out, the United States declared neutrality. Americans began changing their minds after a German U-boat sank the British ocean liner Lusitania with Americans aboard. Finally, in 1917, as U-boat attacks expanded, U.S. fighters began augmenting beleaguered British and French forces.
In World War II, for over two years America stood aside while Britain fought bravely and barely escaped a Nazi invasion. The United States did ship supplies, initially for cash and then via the generous Lend-Lease program. Despite some differences in strategy (PDF), the British and Americans successfully fought in North Africa and Europe, defeated U-boats, broke Nazi codes, and developed radar and the atomic bomb.
At times, British imperial ambitions were an irritant. In the 1941 Atlantic Charter, President Franklin Roosevelt pressed Churchill to accept language backing decolonization. Churchill long opposed liquidation of the British Empire, but Americans did not want to fight to preserve it. In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower used financial pressure to coerce the British to withdraw from a secret armed thrust into Egypt, along with the French and Israelis, to seize control of the Suez Canal.
Foreign interventions have both bolstered and weakened the bond. In America’s misguided Vietnam War, Britain irritated President Lyndon Johnson by refusing to send troops. In the brief 1991 Gulf War, U.S. and British forces cooperated to liberate Kuwait. Britain joined the United States in the ill-founded 2003 Iraq war; later, half of the British polled said this was wrong.
Over time, Britain and America have been the most intimate of allies. In the Cold War, their forces stood guard on the Central Front. London and Washington collect and share sensitive intelligence. The British sea-based nuclear deterrent carries U.S.-made Trident missiles. Dozens of British nuclear explosives were detonated at the Nevada Test Site.
Shared values and purposes have kept Britain and America on the right track. When one or both fell off, diligent efforts helped them recover their balance.
This month NATO is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the United Kingdom and United States have much of which to be proud. But this ought not breed complacency. After Brexit, Washington twisted arms so that Britain would not infringe the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Accord, allowing free movement of goods and people between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Isolationist sentiments still plague the special relationship. Last year’s U.S. delay in approving new military aid for Ukraine shook the United Kingdom and other Europeans. The British worry that a second Trump presidency could herald a “radical reorientation” of NATO.
Shared values and purposes have kept Britain and America on the right track. When one or both fell off, diligent efforts helped them recover their balance. The special relationship, if nurtured, will continue to benefit peace and prosperity in Europe and beyond.
William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND and a former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia. Eugene A. Procknow is an author and military historian focused on the American Revolutionary Era.
This originally appeared on rand.org on July 9, 2024.
