Week 14: The UK and the World - Detailed Notes
British Politics and Government - GOV 366G
Week 14: The UK and the World
Background Information about Britain and the EU
Source: Lord Norton, Chapter 9: “The European Union: Government above the Center”
UK International Commitments (Before 1973)
Key International Organizations:
UN (United Nations)
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights)
GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)
Note: None of these organizations operated as ‘supranational’ bodies. They did not create regulations that were directly applicable within the UK or become part of UK law.
UK Joins European Community (1973)
Transition to EU status:
42 volumes of legislation became part of UK law.
Subsequent treaties expanded EU in geographic reach and in terms of power/responsibilities.
Significant development: Becomes formally recognized as EU in 1993 with a structure featuring three “pillars”:
European Community (EC)
Foreign/Security Policy
Justice
Lisbon Treaty (2009): Revised the structure to have a single body with legal personality.
Historical Context of EU Formation
Early Institutions:
European Steel and Coal Community: Founded via the Treaty of Paris (1951).
Euratom(eripean atomic energy community: Established by the Treaty of Rome (1958)
European Economic Community (EEC): Formed a common market for goods;
merged with EC in 1967.
UK’s Initial Reluctance to Join
Britain declined to become part of the original groups to avoid compromising its status as a world power, favoring the “Special Relationship” with the USA.
View of Conservatives: focused on maintaining the empire and Commonwealth.
View of Labour: perceived as anti-socialist and pro-capitalist.
Economic Stress of the 1960s
Economic troubles emerged in the UK—EEC economies were growing faster.
Commonwealth countries showed resistance to UK leadership, straining the “Special Relationship” with the USA.
Example: Suez Crisis (1956), which showcased diminishing British power.
Shift in Perception about EEC
EEC was then viewed as a potential avenue for the UK to regain influence on a global scale:
Tariff-free access to a market of 180 million people.
Perception that economic strength was necessary for political strength.
Generate economic efficiencies through
competition
Political strength required economic strength
Attempts to Join EEC
First application vetoed by De Gaulle (1963).
Second application (1967) faced challenges but continued under Edward Heath's Conservative government.
Parliamentary approval to join in 1972 came through but was narrowly passed (8 votes margin).
Labour government of Harold Wilson
Another French veto
Negotiations continued under Conservative
government of Edward Heath
Actual membership began January 1, 1973.
A referendum in 1975 confirmed membership (2-1 margin).
Ongoing Contentions Post-EEC Membership
Margaret Thatcher supported a single market but favored limited international governance.
John Major negotiated an “opt-in” for single currency in Maastricht Treaty (1991); the UK never adopted the Euro (€) preferring to maintain the Pound (£).
Conservatives grew more Euroskeptic; Labour under Blair became more engaged.
Constitutional Implications
1972 Treaty: Established that all current and future EC laws are binding in the UK, with EC law superseding UK law.
Disputes to be resolved by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Single European Act (SEA, 1987): introduced Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) replacing national unanimity, exposing the UK to potential outvoting.
Maastricht Treaty (1993): introduced the principle of subsidiarity(decisions need to be allowed to be made at the lowest level of something for ex this is talking about the nation state) but remains subject to debate.
General Results of EU Treaties
– Powerful supranational entity
– UK Parliament has limited role
Must approve or reject new treaties
But cannot block or amend legislation made under
these treaties
– Lisbon Treaty (2009)
Substantial minority (“yellow card”) or majority
(“orange card”) of member nations can require EU
to reconsider laws that may violate subsidiarity
principle
Almost never used
Economic Implications
– “common market”
Almost half a billion members
UK increased trade with EU states
– European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF)
Reduces imbalances between regions and groups
– Cohesion fund
Funds environmental and transportation projects
– UK’s poorest regions received some funding
Perceptions of UK’s Global Role Post-Empire
Quoting Dean Acheson (1962): “Great Britain has lost an empire and not yet found a role.”
– U.S. Secretary of State (1949-52
Yet the UK retains significant influence globally due to its history, military capabilities, and role in international organizations and the Commonwealth.
On the Other Hand…
– Case can be made that UK remains a major
political, diplomatic, and economic actor
– Due to imperial history, diplomatic ties,
military forces, nuclear deterrent, intelligence
agencies, globally focused economy, and City
of London as financial center
– Role in key IOs (international organizations)
– “Special Relationship” with USA
– Leadership of the Commonwealth
The UK’s Global Outlook
– Two key developments since World War II
Breakup of the British Empire
Integration into, and then exit from, the European
project (various names, currently EU)
– Dean Acheson critique in 1962
UK too aloof from Europe
Over-reliant on “Special Relationship”
Commonwealth as politically irrelevant
– Dominant view today
Britain a former great power, slowly and reluctantly
coming to terms with its diminished global role
While “painful to hear,” a “useful reality check”
Balancing Global Influence with Domestic Constraints
– Many British politicians, regardless of party,
want nation to have global reach and
influence
e.g. military activities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya,
Syria; support for Ukraine
Can Britain afford this activity?
– Should focus be on Europe or wider world?
– Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
14k people
480 diplomatic posts
– Member of almost 100 international
organizations
Role of the United Nations
– Founded after World War II
– Successor, in a way, to failed League of
Nation
After World War I (Great War)
– UK one of five Permanent Members of the
Security Council
– Can exercise veto along with US, France,
Russia, and China
The Role of NATO
– North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)
– Promote collective security of Western Europe
after World War II
– Threat from Soviet Union and “Warsaw Pact”
nations of Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe
Divided by “Iron Curtain” and Berlin Wall
– Wartime alliance replaced by Cold War
– Article 5: an attack on one is an attack on all
Only invoked once: after 9-11
– US as main military power
– UK as enthusiastic participant
European Union Goals
– To help prevent another world war
By integrating economies
Re-integrate Germany (West) into Europe
– US generally supportive of project, and
participation of British
Thought it would help build up defenses
– But British were aloof and cautious
Worried about effects on sovereignty
– Winston Churchill as pro and con
Wanted “United States of Europe,” but UK “with
Europe, but not of it”
British “Imperial Preference” in trade
The OSCE and OECD Roles
– Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe
– Intergovernmental organization
– Helsinki Act (1975); now has 57 members
– Missions: conflict prevention, crisis
management, and post-conflict rehabilitation
– From security to economic growth, from press
freedom to arms control, from election
monitoring to environmental protection
– Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development
– Created after World War II to administer US
reconstruction funds (Marshall Plan)
– Today: promote economic growth, high
employment, free trade; help developing
nations
Implications of EU Membership
– Since World War II, UK part of many
international organizations
– Therefore, not entirely a sovereign actor
Locked into webs of overlapping relationships
– Con: Can limit the UK’s freedom
– Pro: Allow UK to exert agency, influence the
world
Historical Context from Empire to Europe
– Divides UK’s global involvement into multiple
time periods
– First British Empire
Developed commercial and maritime networks
starting in 1500s
Caribbean, North America, parts of India
Competition with France, Spain, Portugal
Ended with American Revolution
– Second British Empire
Asia (especially India), Africa, Middle East
Colonies, conquest, and commercial power
The Empire
– Waves of colonial expansion
– From a variety of motives
Military, economic, religious, international rivalries
– By 1920s, one-quarter of planet’s surface and
one-fifth of all people
– Both a formal (political) and informal
(economic) empire
– Also a currency sphere (sterling zone)
– “Liberal” principles: free movement of goods,
capital, and people
Decline of empire
– “The sun never sets on the British empire”
– But growing competition by 20th century from
US, Germany, and colonies such as Australia
– Growing calls for power and independence
from “Dominions”
– Almost bankrupted after World War II
– No longer able to afford or justify empire in
post-war era
Imperial Twilight
– UK foreign policy historically dominated by
need to preserve the empire
– Reality: empire fading in early-mid 20th
century
– 1923 Imperial Conference
Dominions gained control over own foreign policy
– By the 1930s, all domestic power held by
Dominions in reality, if not officially
Britian in a new post-war reality
– Weakened economy
– Defense budget cuts
– Overstretched empire
– Process of decolonization
India, then nations in Africa and Asia
Also for France and other colonial powers
– Suez crisis (1956)
“the symbol of imperial twilight”
US forces Britain to stop Egyptian military operation
How Did Britain Respond?
– Some understanding of change
– Harold Macmillan
Wind of Change speech (1960)
“The wind of change is blowing through this continent
[Africa], and whether we like it or not, this growth of
national consciousness is a political fact … and our
national policies must take account of it.”
– Winston Churchill
“three circles” theory
UK at the intersection of the Commonwealth, United
Europe, and the English-speaking world
No need to choose sides; unique UK role to play
Difficult Adjustment
– Some “persistence of great-power pretensions
in British thinking from 1945 to the present”
PM Harold Wilson: “we are a world power or we are
nothing” (1964)
Margaret Thatcher after Falkland Islands War: “We
have ceased to be a nation in retreat” and “Great
Britain is great again”
– Reality: “how to play the role of a ‘Great
Power’ internationally, but without the
economic and financial muscle to back it up?
Idea: UK as Greece, US as Rome
– Metaphor from classical world
– A wise and experienced Britain as advisor and
mentor to the new American power
– UK could therefore shape US global political
involvement
Subsequent Efforts
– Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron,
Theresa May, Boris Johnson…
– Books describes these as somewhat separate
eras, but in reality, represent Britain trying to
find a role it can play
– Idea of UK as “bridge” between Europe and
America
Blair: “our job is to keep our sights firmly on both
sides of the Atlantic”
– Blair: use of armed forces in humanitarian
operations; moral dimension of foreign policy
Realities
– Debate about whether the Special
Relationship is real
Is there a special “X factor” that makes US-UK
relations different and unique?
Or is rhetoric ahead of reality?
Does US simply dominate?
Or are there “millions of interactions everyday” that
forge a friendship”
– Public support for overseas military
involvement is limited
After Brexit
– Claims that EU had held back Britain
New “Global Britain” could now be more influential
around the world
– Or is this nostalgic thinking, a yearning for
“Empire 2.0”?
– Refocus on Commonwealth relations, but do
Commonwealth nations want this?
Or are they already focused on regional trade and
security relations, not interested in distant Britain?
– Reality: few new trade deal after Brexit