by George I. H. Cooke
As the United Kingdom
exits the European Union, and Euro-skeptics draw parallels to a doomsday
scenario, in which more members will opt to leave, it is relevant to reflect
upon the United Kingdom, the country that is to be directly impacted in the
months and years ahead. Member states of the EU still have each other and even
have neighbours such as Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and even Turkey, all of
whom are keen to gain membership. The EU will ride out the storm that hit it in
the last five years since the now infamous referendum which David Cameron
promised and held, and respected as he exited Downing Street. His successors
have gambled as did Theresa May in holding elections and hoping to obtain a
larger majority, but instead lost more seats. Her successor Boris Johnson, who
was one of the architects of Brexit, who campaigned vigorously with Nigel
Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party for Brexit in 2005, had more
success in the polls in 2019 and is now prepared to lead his country out of the
regional grouping.
What options lie
ahead for the United Kingdom? How will foreign policy be impacted? What will
happen to the position of leadership the UK enjoys on the world stage? While
questions abound, it is relevant to focus on the mechanisms within the United
Kingdom which the country has relied on for centuries and attempt to understand
how the UK has weathered many a storm and still retained its advanced place on
the world stage
The United Kingdom,
having ruled large swathes of the world for most of the 19th and 20th
centuries and yet after giving up the empire in stages throughout the second
half of the last century, has proved her ability to remain relevant and
resilient against many odds. Having been a dominant naval power, which
transformed into an industrial power house and built a remarkable empire which
conquered countries across continents, the loss of one of its initial colonies,
America, was soon overcome through a galaxy of other acquisitions of territory,
earning for itself the designation of being an empire on which the sun never
set.
As the 1st
of February 2020 dawns, the United Kingdom will turn another page in its dotted
history, and gradually, but surely return to its position of prestige on the
world stage. The referendum of 2015 is now a part of history and the steps
being taken, although not irretrievable are certainly momentous for a country
that shook the very fundamentals upon which two particular concepts of
International Relations discourse, those of sovereignty and regionalism, have
long been established.
Sovereignty
challenged from within
The calls for the
referendum centered on numerous issues, one being the diminishing sovereignty
that the British people enjoyed over their policy formulation and
implementation, as it was argued that Brussels, dictated terms and conditions.
This, it was noted, was owing to the supranational form of cooperation that the
European Union created. British people must decide on their own future, was the
call, in a bid to strengthen sovereignty of a country that had delicately
balanced and ensured a Union of its own for centuries. Yet the day after the
referendum, when Nicola Sturgeon, first Minister of Scotland said that she
intended “to take all possible steps
and explore all possible options to give effect to how people in Scotland voted
- in other words to secure our
continuing place in the EU, and in the single market in particular”,
alarms bells rang at Downing Street and the new Prime Minister Theresa May flew
swiftly to the north to reassure Sturgeon.
The Scottish leader’s statement that she thought “an independence referendum is now highly
likely but I also think it is important that we take time to consider
all steps and have the discussions, not least to assess the response of the
European Union to the vote that Scotland expressed yesterday,” was not what was
expected by leaders in London, or even hard line Brexit campaigners. Even if
they had not envisaged such an outcome, they certainly hadn’t bargained for such
stiff resistance from Scotland in relation to the results.
Theresa May’s “commitment to
preserving this special union that has endured for centuries” was a
quick fix attempt to reassure the people of Scotland that despite their leaders’
sentiments, the central government would respect the “union, not just between
the nations of the United Kingdom, but between all of our citizens.”
Sovereignty and its preservation, which had been a crucial element of the
Brexit campaign, was under fresh strain, not from Brussels this time but from
within the United Kingdom itself.
Similarly, views expressed by Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein President that
“the British government should respect
the popular vote in the North for European Union membership by bringing forward
a referendum on Irish unity. The Irish government, too, should act on this,”
created further concern as another integral part of the country, which shares
the only tangible border with the EU, was appearing to test sovereignty at its
very core. Given that the Good Friday Agreement and relative peace in Northern
Ireland, arrived at through a delicate and complex process, might be
jeopardized, the cautious note of the Prime Minister led to her delaying
invoking Article 50 to commence the process of leaving the Union.
Regionalism threatened
The European Union is held up as the most
integrated, progressive and visionary regional grouping of all those that exist
at present. From its initial steps through the Coal and Steel pact, to the
complex, multinational union of today, the EU has been the epitome of
regionalism. Yet the results of the 2015 referendum sent shudders through this
hugely consolidated structure with nationalist frontrunners such as France’s
Marine Le Pen claiming that “this is the beginning of the end of the European
Union. And I hope the birth of the Europe of nations, a Europe of cooperation
that we’ve been propounding for years.”
Geert Wilders, leader
of the Party for Freedom in Netherlands proclaimed that “We want to be in charge of our
own country, our own money, our own borders, and our own immigration policy. As
quickly as possible the Dutch need to get the opportunity to have their say
about Dutch membership of the European Union.” Related issues such as the Euro
were being raised in Italy with Luigi Di Maio, Vice President of the
Lower House of Parliament stating that “We want a consultative referendum on the
Euro. The Euro as it is today does not work. We either have alternative
currencies or a 'Euro 2’”. The decade long process of building a region of
stability and certainty upon this overarching concept of regionalism was facing
its gravest threats.
Other regional blocs, which aimed to emulate
the EU and its comprehensive progress, especially in understanding mechanisms
such as the European Commission, which remains one of the most unique apparatus
aimed at protecting regional interests over national interests, were suddenly
faced with the daunting question of whether integration needs to adopted only up
to a certain stage, and if the EU had integrated too much.
United
Kingdom: Having it her way
The ensuing crisis
created by the referendum and the need for its implementation, given the
democratic form of governance prevalent in the United Kingdom, was yet another
scenario unfolding in which the UK had had her way. From the refusal to convert
the Sterling Pound to the Euro and the rejection of the offer to join the
Schengen Agreement, the UK has consistently ensured that she was able to chart
her own course despite being within a grouping such as the EU.
In the developments
post January 2020 it is apparent that the United Kingdom will once again push
for swift settlement of the multitude of issues arising out of this move to
depart. From travel to savings, pensions, investments, personnel, the value of
the Pound, the proposed Free Trade Agreement, the border with Northern Ireland
and numerous other issues that require settlement, the task ahead for British
leaders is daunting to say the least, but undoubtedly a challenge they will
accept and emerge from relatively unscathed, if past experiences are to be
relied upon.
The United Kingdom is
today a United Nations Security Council Permanent Member, a position retained
through her victorious alliance during the Second World War. The Prime Minister
is the current Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth, a position which will be relinquished
later this year to Rwanda. The UK is a leading power in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation (NATO), an integral member of the G7, possesses the fifth
largest economy with a $2.83 trillion GDP, and also has the eighth strongest
military in the world with an estimated defence budget of $47.5 billion.
This is a country
which gave up an empire and gained the Commonwealth. It is a nation that
despite many trials and tribulations has always been able to survive and remain
resilient in the face of much resistance and strife. The foreign policy
trajectory actively pursued in the UK indicates a nation state which, through
centuries of experience, is at the top of her game, still, and doesn’t appear
to be about to lose that exalted position among nations.
West
Asia referred to as the Middle East
Countries that fall
within the West Asian region or those to the north of Africa that straddle
global territory from Europe to Central and South Asia have long been termed
the Middle East. From peace accords to conflicts, this terminology has remained
in use. Yet a clear viewing of the map would clearly indicate that the region
hitherto referred to as the Middle East isn’t the middle of the East by any
stretch of the imagination, especially in the current context of world affairs.
At a time when Britain ruled a major portion of the world, and power was
centralized within the context of Europe, it was understood that everything
beyond Europe was the East and it stretched to the Far East where countries
like China lie.
In the 21st
century, when global affairs are widespread, and the United Kingdom plays an
important role, it is relevant to note that it is not the most dominant force
it once was. Yet even at this juncture, when the subject of International
Relations requires evolution and appropriate terminology suitable for the
times, the term Middle East remains part of the vocabulary of the West and is even
used in countries within this particular region. This century is argued to be
the Asian Century, and thus usage of terms, especially by countries in Asia, in
identifying this region as West Asia is appropriate and timely, but it is yet
to happen.
High
Commissioners and not Ambassadors
Whilst
non-Commonwealth countries exchange ambassadors, it is an accepted norm within
the Commonwealth for countries to exchange ambassadors who are identified as
High Commissioners. India, which took on the British with Gandhi and Nehru at
the helm, is a significant example of a country that, despite a bitter struggle
with her colonial master, opted to join the Commonwealth and retain this terminology
as well.
The usage of this
term to date signifies the importance of the Commonwealth and the monumental
role that the United Kingdom has played in this grouping. This role has seen
the gifting of Marlborough House, the former residence of Queen Mary, for the
establishment of the Commonwealth Secretariat; Commonwealth scholarships that
have benefited thousands of students over the years in undertaking higher
education and granting them opportunities in other Commonwealth states; the
impressive quadrennial games which are said to be the third largest sporting
event in the world after the Olympics and Paralympics; and the numerous
programmes and initiatives, including the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC)
which is designed to generate a network of forest conservation projects across
member states and connect them through programmes of preservation for future
generations. All of these initiatives have been possible owing to the dynamic
leadership and cooperation stemming from Downing Street, which has ensured that
the Commonwealth is relevant and Britain’s contribution is not overlooked or
underestimated.
In its initial years
the Commonwealth faced pressure and much doubt was expressed over its potential
to exist. Then Australian Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies, who served
twice from 1939 to 1941 and 1949 to 1966, opined that “there has been a great stirring of minds on the subject of the British
Commonwealth and Empire. Its name; its structure; its internal rights and
duties; its means of family consultation; its place in the world -- all are in
debate. In the nature of things,
uniformity of ideas about it would be unlikely.”
Relevance
of the Commonwealth
Decades later when we
reflect upon the Commonwealth and its achievements, which abound in multiple
sectors, it is possible to note that its very existence in 2020 is one of its
greatest accomplishments, and the British deserve a significant amount of
credit for this feat. Even when the UK opted to move closer to Europe and get
deeply involved in the activities of the EU, at gradual stages of growth and
integration from 1973 onwards, the Commonwealth remained a key foreign policy priority
for the British government.
The inability for
Vanuatu to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2017
led to the United Kingdom stepping in and offering to host it in London in
2018. This was yet another momentous opportunity for the British to take over
the Chair-in-Office position which will be retained until the next CHOGM.
Prince Charles’ position as the next Head of the Commonwealth was also
established at this meeting at which The Queen requested that her son continue
what her father started.
It is in and through
the Commonwealth that the United Kingdom will seek its greatest source of
support post-Brexit, and the mechanism through which the country will look to
work more with fellow member states in this grouping. Likewise member states of
the Commonwealth will see renewed interest, formidable policies, favourable
trade, fresh opportunities and above all a rejuvenated platform from which
regionalism in its newest form, which Peter Katzenstein defined as “regions (that)
are politically made”, wherein there is less emphasis on the geographic aspects
of regions altogether and instead focus is on the political and ideological
characteristic of the regions.
It is at this stage
that the Commonwealth is being reborn. Serving the interests of the UK, and its
member states, it also possesses the potential to become the new, innovative
form of regionalism, which would also bode well for other aspirant groupings
and unions.
Winston Churchill
played a fundamental role in leading the United Kingdom and the allied powers
to victory in the Second World War. Similarly Boris Johnson is determined and
resolute as he takes on the challenge of leading the United Kingdom out of the
European Union and into a new form of existence. Despite the challenges faced a
century ago and throughout the 1900s, and through the difficulties forecast for
the country in the short to medium term after leaving the EU, the United
Kingdom will bounce back reinvigorated and re-energized to take on the world and
continue to secure the special place the country has on the global stage, owing
to her timeless policy of strategizing amongst all else, her foreign policy.
