Counterinsurgency wars and the Anglo-American alliance : the special relationship on the rocks

Andrew Mumford challenges the notion of an actual "special relationship" between the United States and United Kingdom in diplomatic and military affairs, the most vaunted and, Mumford says, exaggerated of associations in the post-1945 era. Though allies to be sure, national self-interest and domestic politics have often undercut the relationship. This book combines for the first time an analysis of US-UK interaction during major counterinsurgency campaigns since 1945, from Palestine to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a critical examination of the widely perceived special relationship. Counterinsurgency conflicts are frequently difficult, protracted, and costly, thus they are a good test of the bond between allies. An assessment of each nation's respective internal political discussions and diplomatic exchanges about the others' conflicts reveals that in actuality there is only a thin layer of specialness at work in wars that shaped the postcolonial balance of power, the fight against Communism in the Cold War, and the twenty-first century "War on Terror." This work is especially timely given that the US-UK relationship is once again under scrutiny because of the Trump administration's "America First" rhetoric and Britain's changing international relations as a result of Brexit. Mumford's book will interest scholars and students of history, international relations, and security studies as well as policy practitioners in the field.

Andrew Mumford challenges the notion of a “special relationship” between the United States and United Kingdom in diplomatic and military affairs, the most vaunted and, he says, exaggerated of associations in the post-1945 era. Though they are allies to be sure, national self-interest and domestic politics have often undercut their relationship.

This is the first book to combine a history of US-UK interaction during major counterinsurgency campaigns since 1945, from Palestine to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a critical examination of the so called special relationship that has been tested during these difficult, protracted, and costly conflicts. Mumford’s assessment of each nation’s internal political discussions and diplomatic exchanges reveals that in actuality there is only a thin layer of specialness at work in the wars that shaped the postcolonial balance of power, the fight against Communism in the Cold War, and the twenty-first-century “war on terror.” This book is especially timely given that the US-UK relationship is once again under scrutiny because of the Trump administration’s “America First” rhetoric and Britain's changing international relations as a result of Brexit. Counterinsurgency Wars and the Anglo-American Alliance will interest scholars and students of history, international relations, and security studies as well as policy practitioners in the field.

Andrew Mumford challenges the notion of a "special relationship" between the United States and United Kingdom in diplomatic and military affairs, the most vaunted and, he says, exaggerated of associations in the post-1945 era. Though they are allies to be sure, national self-interest and domestic politics have often undercut their relationship. This is the first book to combine a history of US-UK interaction during major counterinsurgency campaigns since 1945, from Palestine to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a critical examination of the so called special relationship that has been tested during these difficult, protracted, and costly conflicts. Mumford's assessment of each nation's internal political discussions and diplomatic exchanges reveals that in actuality there is only a thin layer of specialness at work in the wars that shaped the postcolonial balance of power, the fight against Communism in the Cold War, and the twenty-first-century "war on terror." This book is especially timely given that the US-UK relationship is once again under scrutiny because of the Trump administration's "America First" rhetoric and Britain's changing international relations as a result of Brexit. Counterinsurgency Wars and the Anglo-American Alliance will interest scholars and students of history, international relations, and security studies as well as policy practitioners in the field. Présentation de l'éditeur : "Andrew Mumford challenges the notion of an actual US-UK "special relationship," the most vaunted, and Mumford says, exaggerated of diplomatic associations in the post-1945 era. This book combines for the first time an analysis of US-UK interaction during major counterinsurgency campaigns since 1945, from Palestine to Iraq and Afghanistan, with a critical examination of the widely perceived diplomatic and military "special relationship." An assessment of each nation's respective private political perceptions and public diplomacy towards the others' conflicts reveals that in actuality there is only a thin layer of "specialness" at work in wars that shaped the postcolonial balance of power, the fight against Communism in the Cold War, and the twenty-first century "War on Terror." This work is especially timely given Britain's changing international relations as a result of Brexit as well as the Chilcot Inquiry about the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003."