英语概况英语国家资料Unit_8.doc

Unit 8British Foreign RelationBritain Then and Nowv 1.After a lengthy fight with the Axis powers, the United Kingdom eventually emerged victorious and with its empire still largely intact. When the war ended, Britain was the largest military power in Western Europe. It power and prestige ensured it would have a big influence on the postwar international order. v 2. Britain was active in setting up at the United Nations and, in recognition of its continuing importance to world politics it was awarded a seat on the UN security Council, along with the other recognised “great powers” of the Soviet Union, the United States, China and France. v 3. the age of imperialism was over too. On one hand, the British could no longer afford to maintain its empire, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. On the other hand, the British realised that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. v 4. The end of the great British empire was surprisingly rapid. Jordan, India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon got their independence one after another. v 5. Todays Britain A medium-sized European country. Britain no longer rules a vast overseas empire, but participates as an equal member in the EU. It lacks the all-powerful navy of its imperial past, but it does have an independent nuclear deterrent and technologically advanced armed forces. British economy ranks about sixth in the world in terms of size, and as a banking centre, it retains considerable influence on the international economy. The Foundations of Britains Foreign Policyv The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits. 1. Perhaps the most important single factor which influences British policy-makers is its history. Because Britain lost its empire so recently, British policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy-makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britains role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples. 2. A second decisive influence upon the way Britain conducts its external affairs is geopolitical. Britain is an island state, and this is considered an important psychological factor as well as one which has influenced Britains economic and military development. 3. Britains island location created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. When Britons wanted to go abroad, they could not just walk across a border: they had to get into a boat and sail often for a long time. this physical isolation had long been diminished by the development of airlines and more recently by the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Nevertheless, psychologically, Britons still sometimes feel cut off. How Foreign Policy is Made v The Prime Minister and Cabinet decide on the general direction of Britains foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), but many other government ministers also play a part in formulating and executing the governments decisions. v The Ministry of Defence, although it is considered less important than the FCO, is an important player. It is responsible for ensuring Britains defence and managing Britains involvement in its military treaty commitments. v The Department of Trade and Industry is concerned with formulating international trade policy and managing British commercial relations with other countries. v The Treasury makes decisions on how much money other departments can have each year. v Since Britain is parliamentary democracy, the governments foreign policy in theory represents the desires of its electorate, but in fact British citizens are more concerned about issues closer to home. On the whole, they are not very inclined to try to influence the direction of Britains foreign policy. There are a number of different interest groups however, and it is interesting that the rare occurrences of civil disobedience in the UK often involve foreign policy issues. Britain and International Institutionsv In the past, Britain was powerful enough to act independently in the world in order to bring about its policy objectives. Nowadays its foreign policy is largely shaped by its participation in a number of important international institutions. In the UNv Britain is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It also is the sixth largest contributor to the UNs budget. As a Security Council member, Britain retains the ability to have a large influence on world affairs.In the EUv More important to Britain in the day to day running of its affairs is its membership in the EU.v The EU has its roots in the experience of the two world wars which tore Europe apatrt in the first half of this century. Some of the countries involved decided that they should work together to ensure peace rather than against each other which seemed to lead to war.v European states began to integrate their economies as a way of fostering cooperation and shared interests with each other, and this paved the way for the formation of the European Economic Community, a common market. v In 1973, the United Kingdom joined the EEC. 1. This was an important psychological decision for the nation because traditionally Britain had looked beyond its European neighbours, feeling that really it had more common with the US and the Commonwealth. 2. in fact, the decision to join the EEC was a natural one given that British economic, political and military interests were already deeply bound up with other European countries. 3. The decision to join the EEC was very controversial; and today, Britains participation in the EU, as it is now called, remained controversial. v At the centre of the controversy is the fact that it is not clear what the EU is and what it will become. The UK has always been very interested in encouraging free trade between countries and is therefore very supportive of the EU as a free area. v However, the UK has always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government. The UK likes to think of the EU as a place where economic cooperation is possible, with the free movement of goods and people. It is less certain about the possibility of the EU becoming a kind of federal “super state”. In other words, while Britons are happy to have other European countries as trading partners, they are reluctant to think about them as fellow citizens belonging to the same state. v Because of the many controversies that Britain gets into with its European neighbours about the future of the EU, looking from outside it seems that Britain is a “bad” European state which is not really committed to Europe. This is not true any more than the idea of joining the EU represented Britains “turning its back” on old friends and commitments. Britain, while often at the centre of policy controversies with its fellow EU members, is nevertheless deeply committed to it. The controversies are borne of disagreements on what the future of the EU should be, rather than abut whether Britain should be a member or not. Britain frequently fights over what the policies should be, but, having agreed, carries these polices out. In the Commonwealth v Britain is also a member of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of states which is made up mostly of former British colonies. There are 50 members of the Commonwealth. It was set up as forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network.v In addition to holding conferences and meetings, the Commonwealth provides educational and technical help. Two-thirds of British development aid goes to Commonwealth countries. Britain and the United Statesv Another major factor which influences British foreign policy is its relationship with the United States. v Nevertheless, the “special relationship” with the United States has gone through ups and downs. The major test of Anglo-American relations occurred during the 1956 Suez Crisis.v To British surprise, the Americans used the economic power to force the Anglo-French forces withdraw. Since then, both sides have worked hard to maintain good relations. British Security and Defence Policyv Britain spends more on defence than most other advanced industrial countries and maintains larger professional forces. It is the third largest spender in the world and is ranked fifth or sixth in terms of its military power. It is a member of the nuclear “club”, maintaining an extensive nucl