Special relationship

The special relationship is the phrase used to characterize the warm political, diplomatic, historical, and cultural relations between the United States and British Commonwealth nations. (See the article Anglo-American relations for an overview of relations between the two countries in general). The phrase was more frequently used by British commentators to mean the United Kingdom and the United States, of which more below; and it is the chief benefit-in-action of the Anglosphere. It is now used to describe the close relationship between Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

Personal relationships

In either case the relationship often depends on the personal relations between British Prime Ministers and their American counterparts. The first example was the close relationship between Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt who were in fact distantly related. Prior to their collaboration during World War II Anglo-American relations had been somewhat frosty. President Woodrow Wilson and Prime Minister David Lloyd George had enjoyed nothing that could be described as a special relationship, although Lloyd George's wartime Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, got on well with Wilson during his time in the United States and helped convince a previously skeptical Wilson to enter the war. Churchill, himself half-American, spent much time and effort cultivating the relationship which paid dividends for the war effort though it cost Britain much of her wealth and ultimately her empire. Two great architects of the special relationship on a practical level were Field Marshal Sir John Dill and General George Marshall whose excellent personal relations and senior positions (Roosevelt was especially close to Marshall) oiled the wheels of the alliance considerably.

Related Topics:
Winston Churchill - Franklin Roosevelt - World War II - Woodrow Wilson - David Lloyd George - Foreign Secretary - Arthur Balfour - John Dill - George Marshall

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The links that were created during the war - such as the British military liaison officers posted to Washington - persist. However for Britain to gain any benefit from the relationship it became clear that a constant policy of personal engagement was required. Britain starting off in 1941 as somewhat the senior partner had quickly found itself the junior. The diplomatic policy was thus two pronged, encompassing strong personal support and equally forthright military and political aid. These two have always operated in tandem, that is to say the best personal relationships between British prime ministers and American presidents have always been those based around shared goals. For example, Harold Wilson's government would not commit troops to Vietnam. Harold Wilson and Lyndon Johnson did not get on especially well.

Related Topics:
1941 - Harold Wilson - Vietnam - Lyndon Johnson

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Highlights in the special relationship would include Harold Macmillan and John F. Kennedy or Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Nadirs have included Wilson's refusal to enter the war in Vietnam and the American government's lack of support for British operations in Suez under Anthony Eden. While the relationship between the two countries may have been strained by Reagan's neutrality in the initial phases of the Falklands War this was more than countered by the US Defense Secretary, Casper Weinberger, who approved shipments of the latest weapons to the massing British taskforce. Bill Clinton was poorly disposed towards John Major after it was alleged that the Conservative government had allowed his Republican opponents access to British documents detailing his time at Oxford University.

Related Topics:
Harold Macmillan - John F. Kennedy - Margaret Thatcher - Ronald Reagan - Vietnam - Suez - Anthony Eden - Falklands War - Casper Weinberger - Bill Clinton - John Major - Oxford University

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