“The Special Relationship” is a term that is often used to describe the political, social, diplomatic, cultural, economic, legal, environmental, religious, military and historic relations between the United Kingdom and the United States or its political leaders.
A cornerstone of “the Special Relationship” is the collecting and sharing of intelligence, which originated during the Second World War with the sharing of code-breaking knowledge and led to the 1943 BRUSA Agreement, which was signed at Bletchley Park. After the war, the common goal of monitoring and countering the threat of communism prompted the UK-USA Security Agreement of 1948. This agreement brought together the SIGINT organizations of the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and is still in place today (Five Eyes). The head of the Central Intelligence Agency station in London attends each weekly meeting of the British Joint Intelligence Committee.
“The Special Relationship” (book list
O.S.S. and “the Special Relationship” (book list)
The OSS and the Fathers of the CIA (book list)
From Empire to International Commonwealth: A Biography of Lionel Curtis, by Deborah Lavin
This is the first biography of Lionel Curtis, a highly influential figure in international affairs throughout the first half of the twentieth century. He was instrumental in extending self-government to the ‘new South Africa’ in 1910, India in 1916, and Eire after 1921. He worked to associate the Commonwealth with America in 1918 and towards a united Europe in 1948. He was founder of the Round Table, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and the Oxford Society.
From the Back Cover
Lionel Curtis C.H. once counted among the great and good, working behind the scenes of international politics and honoured as the ‘pioneer of a great idea’ – international federation as the natural successor to empire. He advocated federation as the way to create a new South Africa after the Boer War; he called for self-government in India in 1912; in 1921 he was instrumental in attempting to pacify the Irish Troubles by treating Eire as if it were a self-governing Commonwealth Dominion. He went on to preach the conversion of the Empire-Commonwealth into a multinational federation, which, in association with the United States, would serve as a model for a united Europe, and even for world government. He founded the Round Table think-tank, the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House, and the Oxford Society. He lobbied indefatigably for his vision of the Commonwealth as a new world order, to be more effective than the League of Nations in making wars obsolete. In the process, he exasperated nationalists and imperialists alike as a prophet of apparently lost causes. He deserves to be remembered not only for what he achieved but for what he was: the bore who never lost a friend; the optimist who stuck to his belief when all was lost; the third-class scholar who became a Fellow of All Souls; the visionary riding his hobby-horse into the drawing rooms of high political society and yet invited affectionately to return. The remarkable character of the man and the influence he exerted on the history of the Empire and Commonwealth are explored in this authoritative biography.
About the Author
Deborah Lavin is Principal of Trevelyan College, and President of the Howlands Trust, University of Durham.
10:52 am on March 24, 2025
