Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony

Kori Schake, Deputy Director-General for Institute for Strategic Studies, London has written an important book as to how a declining power peacefully passes the baton to a rising power. The operative word here is peacefully, because in most cases the two powers fall into what Graham Allison has called the Thucydides Trap where the ancient historian noted “it was the rise in Athens and the fear this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” The importance of Schake’s book is that today the world is faced not with the rise of the U.S. and the decline of Britain, but rather with the rise of China and the decline of the United States.Her book begins with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, where she notes that it was a British idea to begin with, to the end of World War II. In the case of the Monroe Doctrine Britain was seeking to preserve its commercial interests with the newly independent Latin American countries and the U.S was more than happy to have the British navy enforce the doctrine. In fact one of the reasons for the Monroe Doctrine was the Russian presence just north of San Francisco. Both the U.S. and Britain were fortunate to have John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State and the Britain to have George Canning as Foreign Secretary.Schake then goes on to discuss the Oregon boundary dispute of the late 1840s, the Civil War, the Venezuelan crises of 1895-1905, the Spanish American War, World War I, the Washington Naval Conference of 1922 and World War II. She highlights how Britain feared U.S. interference in British politics during the Civil War that worked to keep Britain out as many Brits sympathized with America’s republican values and the presence of Irish and Scottish immigrants in the U.S. who still had strong ties to the home country. The Brits certainly did not want to encourage secession.By the time the Venezuelan Crises came around Britain began to fear America’s growing power and instead of fighting the powers worked together. Simply put Britain began to treat the U.S. as an equal and further it had worries much closer to home with the rise of Germany. Indeed the British Navy actually supported Admiral Dewey in the battle of Manila Bay. Again both parties were lucky to have such statesman as Hay and Salisbury. Moreover by 1900 the two countries were becoming more alike. The U.S. was become more imperialist and Britain became more democratic. Simply put The U.S. was first willing to accept Britain’s rules based hegemony and later Britain would accept the rules laid down by America.That became apparent at the Washington Naval Conference where the once mighty British navy accepted American parity in the Pacific. It was a diplomatic victory for President Warren Harding.With the coming of World War II Britain was forced to accept American hegemony. They had no choice and under the new rules its empire would have to go. In return for American support again the Brits had no choice.The question for us today that would the U.S. and China be so lucky. Schake thinks not. There is far less commonality and it isn’t clear that on the U.S. side we will we have statesman on the caliber of John Quincy Adams and John Hay. One can only hope.

This fairly brief (less than 300 pages plus Notes) study of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is packed with fascinating and valuable information. Kori Schake, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, points out that when hegemony is transferred from one power to another it is usually a result of warfare. Only once has the transfer taken place without conflict between the powers concerned: during the approximately 120 years between 1823 and 1945 as Britain stepped back and the United States stepped forward as the dominant partner.Schake describes that transfer in a series of well written chapters dealing with the Monroe Doctrine, the controversies over Oregon's boundaries in the 1840s, Venezuela's troubles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the ongoing issues created by America's sense of Manifest Destiny. Other chapters focus on the US Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and both World Wars as well as the implications of the Washington Naval Treaties of the early 1920s. Schake's overall theme is that the many similiarities and common histories of the two nations led Britain to first seek to co-opt the US as a junior partner, eventually choose to step back and concede leadership to that junior partner in the Western Hemisphere and other areas, and then finally acknowledge that hegemony had permanently and firmly moved across the Atlantic.The most important chapter is the final one, "Lessons from a Peaceful Transition," in which Schake emphasizes how unusual the transfer of hegemony from Britain to the US was, and how unlikely it is that another such peaceful transition will take place. This is a thoughtful, well written work, scholarly but certainly accessible to non-specialists, and definitely an important resource for everyone concerned for the future of the United States and the world.

Hegemony--a word easier for me to define than to pronounce--is the general subject of this book. More specifically, a one hundred year period of U.S. and British diplomatic history is used to describe the unusual peaceful--but often fraught--transition of world leadership from London to Washington, D.C. Interesting short discussions are presented on a series of critical junctures in the bilateral relationship, such as how the Oregon territorial boundary dispute was handled in the 1840s and the Spanish-American War of the 1890s.The author thinks such a peaceful transfer between major powers is unlikely to be replicated and gives her thinking why. Ms. Schake is certainly skeptical of any future happy transfer of policy leadership as between China and the U.S.As a minor point, I found it odd and unnecessary for a number of British officials to be given their full name and title. For example, "Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Fifth Marquess of Landsdowne' and 'Henry John Temple, Third Viscount Palmerston."

I’ve become fascinated with the transition of power between two countries especially that of the British hand off of power to America. It is an interesting story to say the least, especially when one considers the animosity between the two in the 19th century. Another transition of power is soon to be upon on us, most likely, as China continues to grow. America will have to ask itself what its response will be if China continues to shun the world order the US established after WW2, appeasement or remain steadfast risking tension and perhaps conflict?

A brilliantly written book on a vitally important issue of our time. In a highly readable style she looks at the rise of America and how it eclipsed Britain. She then demolishes the fashionable idea that China can, peacefully achieve the same trick. At a time when the world is watching nervously the rise of China and its global actions this account is timely and perceptive. Highly recommended.