The Special Relationship (1945-1990)

Page Agreg-Ink consacrées à la Relation Spéciale

The Anglo-American relationship viewed by contemporary writers

Tout d'abord, les sites de nos collègues Fayçal Titah , Jean Sahaï et celui de l'université de Pau (SAES) où se trouve une liste impressionnante d'adresses Web

US and UK: A Transatlantic Love Story? by the BBC: "Britain and America, at times they seem like the best of friends, at others they are barely speaking. Click on the graph above to find out more about the highs and lows of the two countries' special relationship".

From The United Kingdom Parliament:

- A Memorandum by Pr John Baylis on The Implications of US Foreign Policy on UK Interests (2001)

A lecture by Jack Straw (British Foreign Secretary) at the Brookings Institute on the Anglo-American relationtionship (May 2002).

Extract: "[...] For the United Kingdom, the Anglo-American relationship is of profound importance. But for us the relationship with the United States is not just a matter of foreign policy. Over a million jobs in each of our countries depends on the investments in the other. We remain the biggest external investors in each other's economies. [...]"

The U.S. and Multilateral Exports Control: the British Perspective (CSIS Lecture, by Alexandra Ashbourne, 2001)

Recent books on the topic (extracts only) from The History Cooperative

"The special relationship with the US is over, thanks goodness", an article published in 2000 by Roy Hattersley in The Guardian Weekly

"The so-called 'special relationship' between Britain and America has always been defined by one thing - conflict" Spotlight on the special relationship by the BBC

"An opportunity to strengthen America's special relationship with Britain" by John Hulsman, PhD

"The former US. ambassador to the Court of St. James, Ray Seitz, recalls in his autobiography preparations for President Bill Clinton’s first meeting with Britain’s then-prime minister, John Major. Sitting in the Oval Office, the president was reminded by one of his aides to mention the magic phrase “special relationship.” “Oh yes,” said Clinton. “How could I forget?” And he burst out laughing". That says it all, doesn't it? The state of the special relationship by Policy Review Online.

"A provocative new book says that America is bad for the UK economy" by Time Europe

"The European Union, Britain and the United States: which way to go?" by Conrad Black on the Nixon Center Site

"Blair and Bush forge a new, special relationship" from Foreign News in Focus

"Time to re-think the special relationship?" Sure, why not ?

 

Some links by topics

Churchill and Roosevelt. Why not try this site (you'll need patience and courage, but it's worth it): the correspondence between the two men in 1944-1945

Another link to "Churchill, Roosevelt and the emergence of the Anglo-American Alliance": 1939-1945) here

Churchill on Persia

Money makes the world go 'round: a memo to Roosevelt by an American official (1943) on the British gold and dollar balance

About Bretton Woods (1944): a French Web site on the the new monetary system

The collapse of Bretton Woods? By W. G. Tarpley: "On August 15, 1971, President Nixon made a decision which marked the crumbling of the world monetary system which was created at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944."

Why White not Keynes? Inventing the Post-War International Monetary System, by James M. Boughton (.pdf)

The Marshall Plan: George Marshall's speech on June 5th, 1947

About the Cold War in general: a short-cut to the topic on "learning history UK; some Web resources (well quite a lot actually) on Cold War Hot Links, a French site entitled La Guerre froide (explicit enough)

The Iran Coup: about the role of the CIA in the "coup" from The New York Times ("written in 1954 by one of the coup's chief planners, the history details how United States and British officials plotted the military coup that returned the shah of Iran to power and toppled Iran's elected prime minister, an ardent nationalist...").

The Cuban Missile Crisis: a useful summary from Yale Law School

The same crisis as told by President Kennedy

Cuban Missile Crisis: Kennedy sought dialogue with Castro. "Initiative with Castro aborted by assassination, declassified documents show. Oval Office Tape Reveals Strategy to hold clandestine Meeting in Havana; Documents record role of ABC News correspondent Lisa Howard as secret intermediary in Rapprochement effort". Posted on November 24, 2003 on the NSA (National Security Archives) Web site

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on US nuclear bases between 1945 and 1977 (article published in 1999) here

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on "Where Her Majesty's weapons were" (by Richard Moore): "The United States was not the only country to store nuclear weapons overseas during the Cold War. Official British documents declassified under the 30-year rule show that Britain made similar deployments, although the British government never drew attention at the time to its nuclear weapons movements abroad. [...]"