The Anglo-American military relationship: Institutional rules, practices, and narratives

ABSTRACT

The Anglo-American military relationship is a vital yet neglected area of study. This article argues that the British military have actively cultivated a relationship with the U.S. military that has contributed to the longevity of the broader so-called “Special Relationship,” even in the Trump era. The article contends that the complexities of the military relationship can best be captured by the theoretical lens provided by Lowndes and Roberts that combines different strands of institutionalism to focus on rules, practices, and narratives. The intense linkages between the United States and United Kingdom have become routinized, enabling them to adapt their peacetime cooperation to conflicts, and thereby address post-Cold War security challenges. The article draws upon semi-structured interviews with senior British military officers as well as policy documents to explore how these patterns of collaboration have become ingrained in patterns of both thinking and behavior.

KEYWORDS:

• Anglo-American relations
• military cooperation
• special relationship
• institutionalism

Acknowledgements

A British Academy grant facilitated interviews with senior British military officers in the UK and stationed in the U.S. The authors would like to thank members of the British armed forces for the access that was granted for these interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on the contributors

Wyn Rees is Professor of International Security and Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has also taught at the University of Leicester, the College of Europe in Bruges and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. His research and teaching interests include UK security policy, transatlantic relations and counter-terrorism. Amongst his publications are The US-EU Security Relationship: The Tensions between a European and a Global Agenda, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 and The Evolution of Military Power in the West and Asia, edited with P. Eadie, London, Routledge, 2016.

Lance Davies is Lecturer in International Relations at Staffordshire University, UK. His research focuses on Russian foreign and security policy, conflict management and security and defense cooperation. Dr Davies is in the final stages of completing a monograph on Russian conflict management and European security governance for Rowman and Littlefield International, and has published articles in International Affairs, Europe-Asia Studies, and the Comillas Journal of International Relations. Dr Davies has also contributed to a variety of research projects for the European Union, the OSCE, and Amnesty International.

Notes

1. During the Coalition’s assault on Iraq’s Al Faw Peninsular a U.S. Marine unit was actually placed under the command of UK 3 Commando Brigade, illustrating reciprocity in command relationships (House of Commons Defence Committee, 2017).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the British Academy Small Grant RA 2869.