Foreign Policy Analysis UK, Joining The EC, Period 1973 Essay

Foreign Policy Analysis UK, Joining The EC, Period 1973 Essay Foreign Policy Analysis: UK, Joining The EC, Period 1973 â€" Essay Example > UK FOREIGN POLICY AND THE JOING OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY IN 1973Immediately world war ll was offer Britain enjoyed its powers as a super power, which placed it at the level it was in 1919. It enjoyed her powers on the international stage and played a strategic role as the main ally of the United States. The British Empire was one of the largest economic blocks in the world as a result its sterling pound was the most preferred mode of international money exchange. (Graham 1990)Britain enjoyed a prestigious position of being the superior militarily in European and by extension the world. Because it was an island and developed its navy way before other nation could build their own. Hence, Britain explored the world and conquered other nations on the process expanding the British Empire. Its industrial sector was also highly advanced than other nations in the world, though it was a net importer of agriculture commodities. (Sutcliffe 1997) The British foreign policy approach was based on, the fact that it was the only European country that was never invaded, and the policy makers thought that Britain occupied a special place in the world affairs, even though her influence had declined. By being undermined by United States, its most trusted ally, which intervened and forced the British government to withdraw from the Suez, but not until after it had placed sanctions on British government, that affected its currency, the British pound lost value and the country experienced stagnation and inflation. The emergency of European community (EC) whose economy was growing above the world average and resultant world economic crisis worsened the situation in Britain. (George 1994) Thereafter, United States withdrew from the world stage to concentrate on the Vietnam War, leaving the British to take charge, but because of the weakening of the influence of the British government on the world affairs. Britain was forced to concentrate on engaging the United States by persuading i t from withdrawing from the international stage. As a result, it was preoccupied in making foreign policies that would prevent the United States from withdrawing. Through the influence of Winston Churchill, the British government changed its foreign policy to be the mediator between Europe and the United States. Churchill formulated “a policy based on three circles, where the United States was one of the special circles, the other were Europe and Britain as the centre of the circles. ” This was in response to the growing EC powers, which the British government wanted to act as ago between the United States and the European economic block. (Camps 1964) Churchill’s speech at Zurich in 1946, he urged “France and Germany to take the leading role in forming a united Europe, but he was clear that Britain will not be a part of it” confirming what he had earlier indicated in an article. (Gilbert 1996)Britain never wanted to join the European countries in forming a united communi ty, because it risked losing its status on the world stage if it did not become its leader. Because it was unlikely to its leader as the French president, Charles De Gaulle opposed the entry of Britain into the European community citing the power struggle that would rise between Britain and France. It aimed to strengthen its economic and political influence on the international stage, despite the fact that most of its colonies had declared independence, and due to the economic crisis that the government was facing, the government responded. In 1945, with massive reforms taking place in Britain to improve the economic situation, where industrial nationalization was so popular that it had support from the entire political divide. In addition, the following election of 1951, there was debate about forming the United Coal and Steel Company in Europe. Though the motion was defeated in the House of Commons with the support from both political parties, the motion was rejected because the British government never wanted to lose control over nationalized industries to Europe. In 1960, Britain was the largest industrialized country in Western Europe, but the introduction of, the National Health Service Scheme, proved too expensive for the government to maintain. It drained most of the revenues generated through industrial sector. However, this had an impact on foreign exchange reserve of Britain in turn the balance of trade was not in favour of Britain, as it was a large net importer of agricultural commodities and the non-cooperation of its former colonies in supplying it with cheap commodities. In 1967, there was a major deficit in the budget for the purchase of agricultural products, complicated by weak export base. (George 1994)