America in Britain's Place: A Polemic on not Being Anglo-Saxon

Abstract

Although many analysts on the European continent use the term Anglo-Saxon to refer to a presumed close political association between Britain and the United States, the fact is that for more than a century the two countries competed for global influence. In fact, for well more than a century beginning at least early in the 19th century the United States regularly challenged Britain's global role — eventually replacing Britain as the dominant global power. In this competition, the United States adopted a brutally realist ‘power politics’ approach to Britain, while the latter focused on the challenge from another global contender, Germany. Today, when Britain's future role clearly lies with the European Union (EU) and the United States has entered upon a period of decline, Britain's role, and that of the EU, is to help the United States to move on so that it does not threaten values that are dear to Europe. Britain can play a role in this if it is acceptable, both within the framework of the EU and to the United States.