The United Kingdom Goes Back in Time

Last week, I had lunch with a couple of European friends.  One friend is German and the other Greek, so they argued vociferously about the European Union’s (EU) current debt issues throughout most of the lunch.  The only topic that they seemed to agree on was the recent announcement from the EU leadership regarding changes in the Eurozone’s structure. 

A quick summary of this recent announcement is as follows: 25 of the 27 EU countries recently voted to ratify changes to the EU charter to allow for closer economic and national integration.  The two nations that did not vote to approve the changes were the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom (UK).   The Czech Republic is expected to eventually approve of the changes, while the UK flatly rejected the changes.

This news is important for two reasons:

1.       The United Kingdom has a history of disrupting mainland European attempts at integration.

2.       The attitude that the UK’s actions engender from the mainland.  As my two friends put it, “Damn Brits!  They’d rather be little Americans than real Europeans.” (I paraphrased because their adjectives were slightly more colorful than mine.)

Traditional Perspective:

Traditional historical literature places the UK in the role of the reluctant hero.  Since the start of the 19^th century time, the UK has played the role of protector of freedom in Europe.  It has entered numerous European wars to oppose aggressor nations seeking to dominate the continent and subdue smaller nations.  These wars in include the Napoleonic Wars against France, World Wars 1 and 2 against Germany, and the Cold War against the Soviet Union.  In each case, the British Isles remained unconquered and the UK acted as the lead partner in a coalition that eventually triumphed and liberated the European mainland.

Alternate Perspective:

“The Pity of War: Explaining World War 1” by Niall Ferguson offers up an alternative view on the UK’s role in World War 1.  I think this perspective applies just as easily to all of the wars mentioned above.  Viewed from Ferguson’s alternative, the UK is not the reluctant hero but the meddling outsider who continually prevents European integration and causes the cycle of conflict on the mainland to keep resetting.

From this perspective, 19^th century France, 20^th century Germany, and Soviet Russia were not aggressor nations that were led by megalomaniac emperors or dictators.  Instead, they were all mainland powers that were seeking to use military force to create a version of the current EU under French, German, or Russian leadership.

Modern Day:

This alternate perspective is important because Europe is attempting to integrate again.  This time, the mainland powers have changed their strategy.  France and Germany are cooperating rather than battling each other and Merkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, are the unofficial leaders of the EU.  Russia, while not an EU member, is also cooperating with the Franco-German dominated EU.  It is participating in the EU economy by playing the role as energy and raw material provider, much like Canada does with NAFTA.

This cooperation between the three mainland powers is a new twist in Europe and has led to the greatest level of integration that the continent has ever seen.  It will be interesting to see if this integration can continue.  It will also be interesting to see if the European cycle of war gets reset and a new struggle breaks out for control of the continent.  After all, the UK just drew the first battle line by declaring itself not a part of Europe after all.