As America prepares to welcome King Charles III of Great Britain to D.C. for his first U.S. trip as King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, many in London are awaiting the results of what should be a standard diplomatic visit with bated breath. Many in England have feared that the special relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain is over, citing fear over President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies. They are hoping that a visit from King Charles in Washington will reignite the transatlantic partnership that has lasted for centuries.
However, while the visit is more than welcome, if the purpose of the visit is to truly save our special relationship, there is really no need. The special relationship isn’t under threat from the U.S., but it certainly is from the outside.
This is not to say that there isn’t tension between the U.S. and the UK right now—there certainly is, but it’s not over the possibility of ending or downgrading the alliance, it’s over how to preserve it. After being in office for a year and a half now, there should be scarcely anyone on Earth who doesn’t know that the Trump Administration is demanding more financial and physical input from its partners in our alliances. However, what is surprising is the continued narrative everywhere that the Trump Administration is looking to do away with its relationships entirely.
Let’s put those concerns to bed once and for all.
There have been growing concerns and rhetoric around the world advancing the notion that America is not only pulling back from the world, but that it is actively working to destroy the liberal world order. Major news networks worldwide almost officially declared it after the U.S. intervention in Venezuela, which resulted in the arrest of dictator and cartel kingpin Nicolas Maduro.
In reality, unilateral moves like removing Maduro aren’t meant to destroy the liberal world order; they are meant to save it. Just as the cooperation between America and its allies was the key to defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, we see ourselves amidst a new great power competition where new powers are attempting to use the same strategy to overextend and cause the U.S. to collapse.
Unilateral moves, such as those in Venezuela, have been made to remove potential pieces from the global chessboard that will be used against the U.S. Mere hours before his arrest, Maduro publicly released that he had met with Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping, to discuss strengthening the relationship between the two countries to ensure the construction of a multipolar world.
The U.S. and the UK have been in a slight dispute over some of these unilateral moves, and decision-makers in London are worried that the U.S. is poised to leave them and the rest of NATO behind. They hope that with the visit of King Charles III to D.C. this week, they can emphasize the historical gravitas of the special relationship between the United States and Great Britain, and ground it in our shared history and not merely our shared interests.
‘What the U.S. needs from the UK is traditional manpower; forward presence; complementary naval, air, and ground forces’
In hopes of assuaging London’s fears, the U.S. and the Trump Administration don’t question the special nature of our relationship. What Britain sees as threats in divergence and abandonment is, in reality, the U.S. trying to coax the UK to adapt to the nature of the new great power competition of the 21st century. Beyond our shared history, what the U.S. needs from the UK is traditional manpower; forward presence; complementary naval, air, and ground forces—things the UK helped provide in spades during the Cold War, and were vital for defeating the Soviet Union.
But now, unfortunately, the UK seriously lags behind where it once was. Quite famously, there have been many in the British Parliament who have claimed that there aren’t enough personnel in the British Army to fill a soccer stadium. British cutbacks in military spending have been a concern for several Presidents beyond Trump. President Obama himself, back in 2014, made an impassioned, open call to America’s allies to increase their contributions to NATO if we want to help preserve the current global order. In his own words, when it came to ensuring the safety and continuance of the liberal world order, he stated: ‘We can’t do it alone.’
To be clear, this visit by King Charles III is more than welcome, and he will receive a proper reception, but American concerns won’t change. The special nature of our relationship was never under question in Washington. Rather, it is due to the special nature of the relationship that the U.S. will continue to push for more from its British allies.
The state of our alliance is strong; Washington is pushing it to be stronger.
Related articles:
At a time when public debate is increasingly polarized and superficial, Hungarian Conservative remains committed to depth, intellectual honesty, and independent conservative thought.
Producing high-quality journalism requires resources. Your contribution helps us expand our coverage, reach new audiences, and keep our content accessible.
Please consider supporting our mission.
