A Difficult Relationship: Britain’s ‘Doctrine of International Community’ and America’s ‘War on Terror’

Abstract

In the UK, the sense of hope and expectation that greeted the Barack Obama presidency was testament to the continuing international appeal of the ‘American dream’. By being the first black African-American to enter the White House, Obama immediately renewed faith in those values that most UK citizens hold dear. American popular culture may have a tendency to portray the British people as being sore about losing their Empire (think of Lord Marbury in The West Wing) and of being jealous that the former colonies have achieved superpower status. Yet, the identity and the role that the Empire created for the British as a nation is more than a generation removed from the concerns of most people in the UK today, even if Empire-as-memory continues to exert an influence on the establishment and popular consciousness (see the introduction to this collection). Many continue to embrace US leadership not simply because it is believed to be necessary to secure British national interests or because ‘playing Greece to America’s Rome’ enables the UK to ‘punch above its weight’ on the world stage while remaining aloof from Europe. Rather, the appeal of American leadership for many in the UK is based on ideas about America itself and the values it notionally represents. The principle that all men are created equal, together with the idea that government can guarantee and reflect that principle while also facilitating the pursuit of happiness through the rule of law, is as much a British aspiration as it is an American dream.