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Monday, January 4, 2010

British Foreign Policy Since 1945

Britain used to be a great power for centuries controlling about a fifth of the earth’s land; such as India, Canada, Australasia, and South Africa. Britain was an oceanic power and was conductive to having a strong fleet; its strong navy provided Britain to be a very powerful empire. Britain was a stable country and this allowed it to advance religious reformation, and constitutional development. It was the world largest economy with having a drastic role in world trade. It was the first industrial nation had become the greatest power the world had ever seen, and of course a remarkable colonial power. The “Greatness of Britain” collapsed in the following centuries, due to many reasons; Germany’s aggressive continental power over Europe, the U.S had emerged as the new superpower, influences of communism, Cold War, declining economic and political power, losing its colonial power caused Britain to switch from a superpower, and thus the faith of Britain was not in its hands anymore. The globe was changing; old powers became powerless, new powers arose, regarding these the foreign policies of nations were to change and so was Britain’s.

By 1945, Britain’s economic, international, and empirical positions seriously undermined by the WW II. In July 1945, the British foreign policy indicated a shift in British foreign policy as the Labor Party was elected succeeding Winston Churchill. The struggle of Soviet Union over Nazism inspired admiration for a swing to the left. Clement Attlee became the new Prime Minister of the U.K. Ernest Bevin became Foreign Secretary at a time when Britain was almost bankrupt as a result of the war. Labor Party came to power committed to the creation of a welfare state and a wide-ranging plan of nationalization and wanted a “socialist foreign policy”. Bevin did not have colonial aims as the former foreign secretaries and was approving British withdrawal from the territories that Britain was hegemonic over, such as India. By 1947 Britain agrees to leave Pakistan and in the same year Britain left India. Labor party agreed on specific foreign policy conservatives to have a close relationship with the United States, de-colonilization, to protect Europe against the Soviets, and to reject communist model.

During Attlee’s role as the Prime Minister between the years 1945 to 1951; Britain left India thus forming East and West Pakistan, and India, later on East Pakistan became Bangladesh. The conflict between Israel and Palestine arose by the time Britain could no longer pacify the Israelis and Palestinians. Britain donated their A Bomb in 1948. In the same year Britain acquired four military bases which were a mid point of Britain’s Middle East interests. Attlee’s most persistent target was the British presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, of which Greece and Palestine were part. The war time Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden had insisted in 1945 that the defense of this area was a matter of life and death to the British Empire. Bevin as the Foreign Minister, facilitated the signing of an Anglo-French treaty of alliance at Dunkirk in March 4, 1947, it was a symbol of the two countries’ bitter parting of the ways in 1940. This treaty was to provide a basis for French security against a resurgent Germany and against any possible threat from Russia. Britain also pushed France to be a permanent member in the U.N.

In 1948 with The Brussels Treaty which was signed by France, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg promised a mutual defense against any aggression. The principle British policy was about NATO. The reason for this was the crises occurred between 1947-50 in Europe. Britain during this period also helped to re-create the West German army. Britain received a momentous economic aid between the years 1948-50 via “The Marshall Plan” which was an European Recovery Program formulated to support Europe post WW II. This plan was the plan of the United States for the reconstruction of Europe. By the influence of the Cold War that began in 1945 right after the WW II, Korean War emerged. Britain sided with the U.S to fight aggression from North Korea. This war was symbolizing the conflict between communism and Democracy.

The genesis of the British bureaucracy was the Whitehall and it recruits from the upper class. The Bureaucracy in Britain was a good and was full of hardworking people but it actually failed to adapt to a changing world.

Attlee lost the elections and Churchill came into power as Prime Minster once again during the years 1951-55 until his resignation. Churchill established his foreign policy thesis by implementing three circles; Britain was an empire, mentioning its ties with its colonies, Britain should have close Atlantic relationship with the U.S, and Canada, and the third, was that Europe was an important arena for British diplomacy. “In their policy towards the other Western powers, in order to steer its much stronger partner in the direction in which it wanted it to go, British diplomacy has striven for the maximum degree of consultation at all levels and covering all braches of the British and American state machines, political, military, and economic, concerned directly or indirectly with international affairs”. In 1955 Anthony Eden replaced Churchill and became the Prime Minister of Britain.

In 1956 Suez Crises emerged. The Suez Canal was built in 1869 and it was sold to Britain and France to be given back to Egypt in 1969. Nasser nationalized the canal to build a dam to help develop the country; the U.S didn’t want to grant a fund so Nasser found the solution by nationalizing the canal. Eden feared that Nasser intended to form an Arab Alliance that would cut off oil supplies to Europe. Secret negotiations took place between Britain, France and Israel and it was agreed to make a joint attack on Egypt. These events presented a mortal danger to British international interest and to the peace of the World. In these circumstances the British and French governments decided on a swift and decisive intervention. Thus Britain and France invaded Egypt. The US feared a wider war after the Soviet Union threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side and launch attacks by "all types of modern weapons of destruction" on London and Paris. Thus, the Eisenhower administration forced a cease-fire on Britain and France, Eisenhower threatened to sell the United States reserves of the British pound and thereby precipitate a collapse of the British currency. The British government and the pound thus both came under pressure. Eden was forced to resign, he was accused of exaggerating Britain’s power and independence leading to Suez debacle, and the invading forces withdrew in March 1957. Harold Macmillan replaced Eden.

Macmillan’s primary concern was economic; he was thinking that the defense expenditure had broken Britain’s economy and he thought to get down the defense problem would have a drastic effect on the economy. On the side of foreign policy he tried to overcome the rift that occurred between the U.S. on Suez conflict. He also valued the entry to the European Economic Community (EEC). He continued to let go the territories that Britain had control over such as Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, Ghana in 1957, and Malaya again in 1957 due to communist insurgencies occurred in the area and Kenya in 1963. However in the Middle East Macmillan ensured Britain remained a force. In 1958 turmoil rises in Middle East as the Halhim thrones in Jordan and Iraq came into pressure they were pro British governments. In Iraq the king was killed and led Saddam Hussein to get into power. Jordan appealed to Britain for aid and Howard Macmillan sent troops to protect the king and maintain order, it was a successful attempt. In May 1960 South Africa decides to end its domination status and became independent; independence of South Africa led to racial segregation.

Britain at the time was trying to keep its domination over the territories that were still weaker economically, thus The Sterling Diplomacy came to existence. This diplomacy meant that sterling would be the currency for small countries that can not play a role in the global market. We can conclude from this that Britain’s foreign policy was still based on trying to dominate weaker countries as much as it can do in a way or another.

Middle East was vital for British economy because of the oil and trade flow. In the mid 1960s London focused on two security problems one of which was the need to deter an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Britain’s ability to act in Middle East relied on bases in the Mediterranean: Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar and Libya. 1960s covered Mediterranean troubles for Britain. Cyprus gained its independence from British dominance in 1960 after exhaustive negotiations between the United Kingdom, as the colonial power, and Greece and Turkey, the cultural 'motherlands' for the two communities on Cyprus. Britain could only retain its bases in Cyprus but the hegemonic power was lost, yet the British Government mentioned that they would continue to support Cyprus economically. In the case of Malta after a short period of political instability due to the Malta Labour Party's unsuccessful attempt at Integration with Britain, Malta was granted independence on September 21, 1964. A defense agreement signed soon after Independence so that Britain could maintain bases but this didn’t change the fact that Malta became independent from Britain. Britain was still trying to preserve its strategic advantages in Mediterranean.

On 25th June 1961 the Iraqi dictator Abd al-Qarim Qassem unilaterally announced that Kuwait was to be considered Iraqi territory and offered “to liberate the inhabitants of Kuwait”. On the following day some Iraqi forces began massing along the border to Kuwait. However the Iraqi military was by far nowhere near the strength it would reach in later years and most of the troops had to make a long march from Baghdad down to the southern border of the country. Therefore the Iraqi built-up was very slow. Britain intervened in the situation and sent message to Qassem saying that “if he doesn’t leave Kuwait, Britain would remove him from power”. Kuwait then joined the Arab League, which denied Iraq's claim; Iraq withdrew its army.

Border problems during 1960s were significant; one example was the Indians and Chinese War in 1962. They were having border disputes. “The Chinese have two major claims on what India deems its own territory. One claim, in the western sector, is on Aksai Chin in the northeastern section of Ladakh District in Jammu and Kashmir. Unable to reach political accommodation on disputed territory along the 3,225-kilometer-long Himalayan border, the Chinese attacked India on October 20, 1962”. China was holding nuclear weapons by the time and this fact threatened Indian people and they asked help from the British government, Britain proclaimed that they would extend their nuclear protection to India.

Since the Cold War was more of a strategic war, nuclear weapons had important roles in shaping the relations of the countries. Britain was also trying to keep up with the nuclear trends and it actually became secure, had trident submarines which were carrying nuclear weapons, the Polaris Missile.

Economic reasons were influential over the British foreign diplomacy. By the mid 1960s, sterling pound lost value, Britain tied close economic and thus diplomatic relations with Germany, and they bought German marks to deposit in British banks. Besides Germany a system called Bretton Woods was established by the industrial states, its goal was to perform financial connections and help the member states’ commercial. All of these events were founding necessary foreign policies, linking Britain to the rest of the world. Britain have always had an intention to be a guard for Europe and after it started to regain power and stabilize itself post cold war, Britain had a European focus. In 1973 Britain joined the European Common Market. Aside from getting closer to European states, Britain never wanted to lose its “special relationship status” with the U.S. Even if these two states have their own goals, priorities, and responsibilities; yet they never fell apart and they keep cooperating with each other.

On one side gaining power once again, becoming truly European, advancing nuclear powers, nevertheless Britain had conflicts in Northern Ireland which had always been a domestic problem for the motherland. It was obvious that Britain would no longer be a colonial power with the lost of Yemen in 1967, yet would be an industrial, effective power in European continent.

In order to be powerful it was vital for Britain to gain stability and capabilities economically. This was a hard phase as in the years 1973-4 Britain was facing chronic budget deficit so it had to borrow money from the IMF. Britain found it essential to integrate and participate in European programs, and be effective in European domain. Britain actually became a member in the European Community in 1973 and this altered the context of British-West German relations. Yet this integration didn’t fundamentally alter the nature of the relationship. The priority of Britain was still based on its ties with the U.S. One example to prove the close ties between the U.S and Britain was obvious when Britain helped the U.S. by building their forces on Diego Garcia, an island in Indian Ocean, and by allowing the U.S. to use it in order to maintain stability and project power in the region.

By the year 1979 Margaret Thatcher came into power as Prime Minister of Britain. During this era, she and Ronald Reagan had close relationship. In foreign relations she maintained “special relationship with the United States. She had certain beliefs on the issue of German Reunification; she was concerned about the fact that a united Germany is bound to destroy the balance of power in Europe and was therefore bad for Britain. Thatcher’s impact on foreign policy and international affairs was undeniable. She re-established the political stability, her dealing with the European Community and Soviet Union enhanced Britain’s image. She believed in an enlarged market and in the importance of European diplomatic cooperation.

Following Thatcher, John Major became the Prime Minister of Britain. During his era Britain supported the efforts in Balkans; 1992-95 Bosnia; 1998-99 Kosovo; bomb targets in Serbia; breakdown of Yugoslavia were some of them. As the events and conflicts in the globe changes over time the concerns about aggressive Germany, communist Russia, or Cold War switched with present problems such as terrorism. Britain acts as a major fighter. Tony Blair is the current Prime Minister of Britain and since the 2005 bombings in London foreign policy about the war on terrorism is promoted by Blair. Bush and Blair don’t have as “special relationship” as Reagan and Thatcher had but their ties are still very important. Britain is now playing a European role but the relationship of the United States and Britain will continue as long as there is no single European army. Its is likely that Britain will focus engaging in lucrative contacts, defense deals, and immigration policy that allows foreign scientists to aid in Britain’s defense. I also believe that Britain will follow focusing on economic diplomacy in the European arena and security diplomacy in overseas. Other foreign policies that Britain will seek are on energy policy, maritime strategy, scientific and environmental researches, and cultural preservation.

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