Anglo-American Relations. Re-Imaging in Search of ‘Specialness’

This article re-images the Anglo-American special relationship in the form of a Venn diagram comprising three interlocking circles. Each circle constitutes a domain of Anglo-American activity – identified as the functional, cultural and performative domains. This better captures the intricate mosaic, unusual quality and durability of UK-US relations than do the traditional ‘layer cake’ or ‘coral reef’ representations. The latter are overly functional and static, reflecting particular methodological preferences and underplaying the dynamism and complexity of the special relationship. By contrast, the Venn diagram imagery illustrates how Anglo-American relations exhibit special characteristics in each domain and that the durability of the special relationship derives especially from the continual interplay between them. Moreover, unlike the ‘layer cake’ or ‘coral reef’ representations, the Venn diagram imagery allows for how the relative importance of functional cooperation, cultural connections and public performance of special Anglo-American relations ebbs and flows depending on context.