A bridge over troubled waters : the vital role of intelligence sharing in shaping the Anglo-American "special relationship"

Abstract

Speaking to an American audience in 1946, Winston Churchill articulated the British desire for "a special relationship" with America, coining a term which has continued to define the shifting vagaries of collaboration and consonance between the United States and the United Kingdom. Churchill's statement underscores the historical importance of the Anglo-American relationship, an importance which has translated into unparalleled bilateral security cooperation through two World Wars and a Cold War, during ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and toward the global security challenges which will doubtless arise in the future. This thesis unpacks the evolution of the "special relationship" in an effort to demonstrate the crucial role of intelligence sharing to the effectiveness of the Anglo-American partnership. Intelligence sharing has been the scaffolding around which the particularity of the "special relationship" has always been constructed, from its inception in World War I until its present-day manifestation, and promises to be the key to the future of this uniquely intimate collaboration. Indeed, intelligence sharing has galvanized the "special relationship" posited by Churchill and its formidable role in world affairs. As the project will argue, maintaining the clear but measured intelligence exchange responsible for the unique character of America's relationship to the United Kingdom remains vital to shaping the continued effectiveness of the Anglo-American "special relationship."