Britain and World Power since 1945: Constructing a Nation's Role in International Politics PDF
Preview Britain and World Power since 1945: Constructing a Nation's Role in International Politics
Revised Pages Britain and World Power since 1945 Britain’s descent from status as a global imperial power began in the Second World War and continued over the subsequent decades, with decoloniza- tion, military withdrawal, and integration into the European Union. Yet, Britain’s foreign policy decision makers continued to behave as if the nation remained a great power. In Britain and World Power since 1945, David M. McCourt maintains that the lack of a fundamental reorientation of Britain’s foreign policy cannot be explained only by material factors such as economic strength, trade flows, and business interests or even by an essential and immutable British interna- tional “identity.” Rather, he argues, the persistence of Britain’s place in world affairs can best be explained by the prominent international role that Britain assumed and into which it was thrust by other nations, notably France and the United States, over these years. Using a role-b ased theory of state action in international politics built on symbolic interactionism and the work of American pragmatist philosopher and social theorist George Herbert Mead, McCourt puts forward a novel in- terpretation of Britain’s engagement in four key international episodes: the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Skybolt Crisis of 1962, Britain’s second application to the European Economic Community in 1964–6 7, and Britain’s reinvasion of the Falklands in 1982. He concludes with a discussion of international affairs since the end of the Cold War and the implications for the future of British foreign policy. David M. McCourt is Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of California– Davis. Revised Pages Revised Pages Britain and World Power since 1945 ConstruCting a nation’s role in international PolitiCs David M. McCourt The University of Michigan Press Ann Arbor Revised Pages Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2014 All rights reserved This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher. Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid- free paper 2017 2016 2015 2014 4 3 2 1 A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data McCourt, David M. Britain and world power since 1945 : constructing a nation’s role in international politics / David M. McCourt. pages cm. — (Configurations : critical studies of world politics) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978- 0- 472- 07221- 7 (hardback) — isbn 978- 0- 472- 05221- 9 (paperback) — isbn 978- 0- 472- 12037- 6 (e- book) 1. Great Britain— Foreign relations— 1945– 2. World politics— 1945– 1989. I. Title. DA589.8.M44 2014 327.41009'045— dc23 2014005569 Revised Pages For my parents Revised Pages Revised Pages Contents Preface and Acknowledgments ix Foreword by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Configurations Series Editor xv Introduction 1 ChaPter 1. The Roles Nations Play 19 ChaPter 2. The Suez Crisis, 1956 58 ChaPter 3. The Skybolt Affair, 1962 86 ChaPter 4. Britain’s Second Application to the EEC, 1964– 1967 109 ChaPter 5. Britain’s Reinvasion of the Falklands, 1982 138 Conclusion 166 Epilogue: Britain and World Power in the Twenty- First Century 176 Notes 181 References 221 Index 245 Revised Pages Revised Pages Preface and Acknowledgments In DeCember 1962, former US secretary of state Dean Acheson caused a minor storm in US- UK relations when he told an audience at West Point Mil- itary Academy that Britain had “lost an empire and not yet found a role.” Britain’s attempt to play a world power role, “a role based on the Common- wealth and the ‘special relationship’ with the United States,” he went on, was “about played out.” British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan privately hoped his country would be “big enough” to shrug off the comments. In Macmillan’s view, the American’s tailoring had always been sharper than his judgment, and in any case, the speech had touched on Britain only briefly, and the former secretary was a noted Anglophile. However, Acheson’s words caused anger and resentment in the UK, no doubt because many people felt he had put his finger squarely on Britain’s international predicament. Mac- millan thus thought it prudent to issue a rebuke. He did so by comparing Acheson to Hitler, Napoleon, and others who had underestimated Britain in the past, assuring the country that Britain had and would continue to have an indispensable role on the world stage.1 Transatlantic tempers soon cooled, and the incident was chalked up as an unfortunate diplomatic slight and nothing more. But Acheson’s words remained, firmly entering the lexicon of British foreign policy and quickly becoming something of a cliché. Indeed, no discussion of Britain’s postwar international relations— and certainly not one focused on the concept of “role” itself—c ould avoid citing what Tony Blair would later call “Acheson’s barb.” Readers familiar with Britain’s postwar international history will hopefully be relieved to have it out of the way early, even if they are entirely unsurprised to see it recounted here. Nonetheless, the assertion that Britain has “at long last found a role” has been heard at regular intervals since 1962, and many observers still consider Britain “in search of a role.” Beyond simply
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