THE BUSINESS TIMES
US-UK ties: Will the ‘special relationship’ outlast the Queen’s death?
Against the backdrop of evolving geostrategic and ideological rivalries, America’s relationship with Britain could become once again central to US foreign policy
Tue, Sep 13, 2022
THE death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, has elicited an outpouring of grief among many Americans: From Washington, DC, where US President Joe Biden ordered all flags at US federal and military facilities to fly at half-staff “as a mark of respect”, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress briefly set aside disputes to share their admiration and pass a bereavement resolution, to the far corners of the country, that at one time was a province of the British Empire, where flowers were placed in honour of the queen in public parks and local bars.
That some Americans even flew the Union Jack flag demonstrated a certain historical irony, considering that their country was a former British colony and that their ancestors had fought a bloody revolutionary war against another monarch to win independence from Britain. British forces ransacked the US Capitol during the War of 1812, and London considered supporting the rebellious Confederacy States during the American Civil War.
Yet, historically and culturally, Americans and Brits have still had so much in common in terms of language (English), religion (Protestantism), liberal values (advanced during the English and Scottish Enlightenments), and legal and constitutional systems (Magna Carta), not to mention that the United States was populated and founded by migrants from the British Isles.
In a way, if King George III (1738-1820) had not created dissatisfaction and fomented rebellion in the American colonies, the US, not unlike Canada and Australia, may have been part of the British Commonwealth till today, and the late Queen – and now her son, King Charles III – would have been the nation’s heads of state.
And interestingly enough, some of the Founding Fathers toyed with the idea of nominating George Washington as their country’s king and establishing the US as a British-style constitutional monarchy.
But then for most of the 20th century and early 21st century, American and British officials and pundits have referred to the close diplomatic, military, economic and cultural relations between the US and the UK as the “special relationship”. It was an alliance based on an unparalleled level of cooperation between 2 sovereign states who fought together in the major international conflicts, including World War I, World War II (WWII), the Cold War, the 2 Gulf Wars, and the War on Terror.
The term “special relationship” was coined by the legendary British Prime Minister (PM) Winston Churchill, the son of an American-born heiress whose nation was able to defeat Nazi Germany in WWII thanks to the military alliance he had formed with the US. At one point, the former PM had raised the idea of constructing a US-UK federation and, by extension, an association of all the English-speaking people.
From that perspective, Queen Elizabeth – whose reign spanned the terms of 14 US presidents, starting with Harry Truman – came to symbolise the “special relationship” between the 2 nations that endured at times of change and crisis, as Great Britain (GB) was losing its imperial status and the US was transformed into a global superpower.
The relationship was tested during periods of tensions between Washington and London, such as over the 1956 Suez and 1982 Falklands wars. But that it remained “special” was displayed in the close personal and political ties between President Ronald Reagan and PM Margaret Thatcher, and between President Bill Clinton and PM Tony Blair, and to some extent, between President Donald Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, and PM Boris Johnson, who was born in New York and who held an American citizenship for many years.
Queen Elizabeth II played a central role in this international love affair, making several royal visits to the United States, and meeting all the American presidents but one (Lyndon Johnson) and most of the nation’s leading public figures. In a way, the so-called Second Elizabethan Age seemed to have run parallel to the so-called American Century, and her death coincided with the end of the era during which the US ruled supreme and GB helped it maintain its global position.
Moreover, as descendants of the original settlers, like those who arrived on the Mayflower, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants or WASPs – a demographic group to which all American presidents belonged, except for 2 Catholics (John Kennedy and Joe Biden) and an African-American (Barack Obama) – were gradually turning into a minority, and this major demographic change was bound to affect the US-GB relationship.
Indeed, one of the first steps taken by President Obama, who was born in Hawaii the son of a Kenyan man who had fought against British rule in his country, was to move out of the Oval Office a bust of Winston Churchill that was presented to his predecessor, President George W Bush who admired the WWII PM.
President Obama was intent on playing down the relationship with GB and insisted that the US relationship with Germany, under Chancellor Angela Merkel, was more, well, special for the Americans than their ties to their old English cousins. He also pressed the British leaders to ensure that their country remained in the European Union (EU), arguing that the US could not continue serving as Britain’s global patron.
That kind of sentiment was expressed by some American academicians and journalists, especially those associated with the American political left, in response to the queen’s death, suggesting that she was a symbol of British colonialism and racism.
Hence Richard Stengel, who served as undersecretary of state for President Obama, in saying why he thought the news networks were dedicating too much time to the Queen’s funeral, told MSNBC that Americans who were so captivated by the British royal family have a “weakness” that yearns for a time of “hereditary privilege”. Stengel also seemed to tie the Queen to South Africa’s apartheid system, noting that she presided over British colonialism that “had a terrible effect on much of the world” and ushered in that racist system.
Whether these kinds of views would have long-term effects on the relationship between the 2 countries is another issue; although it is possible that the bilateral relations would eventually become more “normal” rather than “special”.
Or maybe not. Indeed, against the backdrop of an evolving geostrategic and ideological rivalry between the US and rising China and declining Russia, America’s relationship with Britain and other traditional liberal democratic English-speaking countries, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, could become once again central to US foreign policy.
The new effort by the US and the UK to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines aimed at China, and the assistance that the Brits are providing Ukraine in its war with Russia, may reflect the shape of things to come in the coming post-Elizabethan era.