Page 44 - Five Forces of Americanisation Richard Hooke 04072025 final post SDR1

The UK Defence Industry in the 21 Century
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The Five Forces of Americanisation

Looking back 100 years to Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations after the Great War, Britain’s closer
involvement in defence and security with the USA seems inevitable. Repeated conflict in Europe and
beyond created an international security framework based on interdependence, with Wilson’s
idealised notion of freedom and democracy at its heart. However, the trauma of Hitler’s rapid ascent
and an unthinkable Second World War demanded a more muscular approach. Achieving a balance of
power was a pragmatic response, based not only on existing borders and hierarchies but bolstered
too by the doctrine of nuclear deterrence. The creation of NATO and the UN, held together by a UN
Security Council of the then “great powers” (the USA, Soviet Union, China, UK and France) combined
the threat of enforcement tempered by an imperative for co-operation. US idealism remained an
underlying premise and in 2005, its belief in democracy and justice, reinforced by the end of the Cold
War, had subsequently largely endured. As George W. Bush said as recently as in 2017, “Free nations
are less likely to threaten and fight each other”.

“For more than 70 years, the presidents of both (US) parties believed that American security and
prosperity were directly tied to the success of freedom in the world. And they knew that the success
depended, in large part, on U.S. leadership. This mission came naturally, because it expressed the
DNA of American idealism.”
(Remarks by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush at the “Spirit of Liberty: At Home, In
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The World” George W, Bush Presidential Center; 17 October, 2017)
This premise has continued to underpin US foreign policy and the reassurance it offers has sustained
the bonds between Britain and America. The “Special Relationship” really does have a practical history.
Just as the US expected so much of the UK in repairing a shattered Europe in 1944, George W Bush
turned again to Britain for support in prosecuting a “war on terror” after 9/11.
In the UK, 2010’s Strategic Defence & Security Review reiterated that the country rarely acts alone
and that its defence, security and intelligence relationship with the US is central to the UK’s national
interest. In particular, it asserted that: “We will reinforce our pre-eminent security and defence
relationship with the US. It remains deeply-rooted, broadly-based, strategically important and
mutually supportive”.
“The UK and the US are indispensable allies and pre-eminent partners for security, defence and
foreign policy. UK-US defence cooperation is the broadest, deepest and most advanced of any
two countries in the world.
“Together, we help to share the burden of international leadership, based upon our shared
values, our global reach and capabilities, and our common interest in maintaining international
peace and security in this era of systemic competition. The breadth of our relationship is
unparalleled, extending across the full spectrum of Defence including intelligence (notably
through the Five Eyes relationships), nuclear cooperation, scientific research and flagship
capability programmes. We will deepen our unique partnership in areas such as cyberspace,
space, next generation capabilities and deterrence, and work together to further strengthen the
NATO alliance.”
(UK Ministry of Defence: “Defence in a Competitive Age” March, 2021)
In this context, UK defence companies have increasingly focused on interaction with the US. Given the
attraction to UK companies of its business principles, its sources of finance, contracting regimes, its
regulations (especially restrictions on technology transfer) and its sheer size, this is understandable.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on a range
of pressing global issues. Both leaders expressed eagerness to begin working together
immediately to further our many shared foreign policy objectives. They affirmed the depth of the
U.S.-UK Special Relationship and the crucial nature of our partnership in addressing issues like the
conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and China’s malign influence. They also
heralded joint initiatives, including the AUKUS partnership, which promotes a free and open Indo-
Pacific that is secure and stable.”
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(Tammy Bruce, US department of State, 27 January, 2025)

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07/07/2025 Richard Hooke 2025