British diplomacy of money and trade

In: Međunarodni problemi: International problems, Band 71, Heft 2, S. 137-158

Abstract

Leaving the EU is one of the major political decisions made in the UK over
the past half-century. Brexit brought about a virtual political earthquake
not only in EU-UK relations but also in terms of UK future place and role on
the international scene. Immediately after the decision of UK citizens to
leave the EU at a referendum held on 23 June 2016, the question arose as to
whether the UK will lose some of its international influence, whether
Scotland will remain part of the Union, whether the UK will retain its
privileged relations and special status with the USA, and what its future
relations with the EU will be. The purpose of this article is to point to the
basic priorities of the contemporary British foreign policy as well as to
place and role of the UK on the contemporary international scene particularly
in view of its decision to leave the EU. We shall first try to define the
status of present-day Britain in international relations. Second, we shall
address the traditional dilemma of the UK foreign policy - what should be
given priority - relations with the USA, Europe or the Commonwealth? After
that, we shall discuss in more detail the phases the UK foreign policy went
through following the end of the cold war. In the third phase, we shall
analyze the British contemporary foreign and economic policy towards Gulf
countries and China. In the fourth part of the article, we shall discuss
relations with the USA. It should be pointed out that the article does not
seek to analyze all aspects of British foreign policy, even if we wanted to,
due to a shortage of time. Of course, the topic of Brexit will be present in
all chapters and especially in the last one and conclusion remarks. By its
decision to leave the EU, the UK appears to have given priority to its
relations with the USA, China, Gulf countries as well as Commonwealth
countries instead of the EU which has been economically and politically
dominant over the past few decades. This decision taken by UK citizens will
no doubt have a great impact not only on their personal lives and standard of
living but on the UK role in international relations. Despite its military,
political, economic and cultural capacities, it is highly unlikely that the
UK will manage to overcome the consequences of an exit from the single
market, currently generating 18 trillion dollars on an annual basis as well
as the loss of a privileged partner role with the USA within the Union. We
are, therefore, more likely to believe that in the foreseeable future, the
role of the UK on the international scene will continue to decline and be
increasingly focused on its economic and financial interests. Project of the
Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant
no. III 47010: Drustvene transformacije u procesu evropskih integracija -
multidisciplinarni pristup]