FUNDAMENTAL INDICATION OF THE «SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP» BETWEEN THE USA AND GREAT BRITAIN

Abstract

The aim of this article is to shed light on the phenomenon of «special relations» between the United States of America and Great Britain. Despite the fact that the topic gained considerable attention in the academic literature and the term «special relations» is applied to different states and regions, it is necessary to understand its origins. The purpose of the article is to investigate the phenomenon of American-British relations, to analyze the historical and political view of the problem, and to formulate the characteristics of the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom. Chronological limits are determined by the first mention of the term in 1946 and the presidential term of D.Trump, who managed the office in 2017–2021. Methodology of the article. Hypotheses were tested through historiographical analysis and the historical-comparative method were used to analyze published studies on the history of «special relations». The scientific novelty of the study consists in determining the peculiarities of relations between the United States and Great Britain during the tenure of Donald Trump. Therefore, the «special relationship» is a unique historically formed complex of interaction between the USA and Great Britain, which is manifested in various spheres of public life: political (to have an opportunity for better implementation of their own foreign policy), military (the USA and the United Kingdom have an unprecedented level of mutual trust and cooperation in the field of intelligence and nuclear programs), cultural (the historical memory of both nations makes American and British society sensitive to the problems of their «English-speaking neighbours»). We consider it necessary to highlight the following features of American-British relations:the long-term historical interaction that brought the two nations closer together and laid the foundation for relations between the United States and Great Britain; the common ideology of liberalism; cooperation provides an opportunity to better implement one’s own foreign policy; close relations between political figures of states; relations are characterized by periodic «approaching and distancing», which create new challenges for the allies. Each of these features is traced in the relations between the USA and Great Britain and during the administration of Donald Trump. Both states faced a number of challenges in international politics, due to the crisis state of the modern system of international relations. The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have demonstrated the ability to compromise in critical situations, that proves the uniqueness of such an alliance.