Common Interests, Mutual Reliance

The origin of the term of "special relationship" may come from Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Peace Address" in Fulton,better known for addressing the rise of Communism and the" Iron Curtain".The phrase was first used by Churchill in 1945 to describe the UK relationship with transatlantic allies Canada and the United States.Britain,the former "Empire of the sun",established special relationship with its previous colony country and relied on this relation in post-war era.This intrigues my interest in studying the reason why this special relationship was formed.British-American special relationship is the product of the cultural tradition and the necessity of the reality.The special relationship in early postwar period was formed because the two countries had a common diplomatic goal for containing the Soviet Union.Harmony coexisting with conflicts is the characteristic of wartime and post-war US-UK relationship.Although the United States and Britain share common cultural tradition,this common feature did not impede their pursuit of their own interests and goals. Misunderstandings and quarrels existed between the two countries even on the fringe of relation crash.The paper consists of four chapters.The first chapter briefly deals with the US early history from colonial period to the World War I.The deep-rooted economic and political relationship between America and Britain,to some extent,results in their unanimous thoughts and actions.After the First World War,the United States profited a lot from this war while Britain had to face up to the losses and reconsidered the relation between Britain and the United States.The second chapter deals with US-UK wartime cooperation against Fascism.Wartime cooperation was the catalyst for the special relationship.The third chapter is about the Postwar British-American special relationship which includes both mutual assistance and conflicts between the two countries.US-UK conflicts mainly focused on Mid East and Far East.Suez Canal Crisis is the turning point of modern US-UK relationship since it caused the lowest point of US-UK alliance in 1960s.But after Eisenhower Doctrine was proposed,the Special Relationship began to resume and their conflict in Mid East has been alleviated and solved step by step.The fourth Chapter concerns about the personal Factors in British-American special relationship.Churchill and Roosevelt's alliance was not only a matter of common purpose,but also their real mutual friendship and respect.British-American special relationship is the product of the historical tradition and the necessity of the reality which composed of conflicts and friction as well as cooperation and harmony.The "special relationship" is fundamental to our understanding of early post-war world situation,especially the relationship of the world big powers,which has generated a great deal of interest,not only among scholars,but also among the general public.