Could CANZUK afford Britain cultural and economic security in times of vulnerability and multipolarity? | Laura Sánchez Pérez
Just a hundred years ago, the British Empire was the foremost global power, transcending over 35 million km2 of land and possessing incomparable political and economic leverage when negotiating with other states and non-state actors. However, this arrangement was rendered obsolete by the economic depredation of the Second World War- which left Britain $7.5 billion in debt to the United States and Canada- as well as by the ensuing waves of decolonisation, which deprived Britain of its strategic presence in many parts of the world.
While the United Kingdom, for the most part, has been content with this, placing its trust in the special relationship with the United States to guarantee the country’s international prestige and prevent hostile powers from interfering with its domestic affairs, circumstances are today changing again. Proposals for a new, large alignment bloc is being presented as feasible for political, historical, socioeconomic and cultural reasons. Could it provide the solution?
It must first be recognised that the once near-unilateral comity of modern, first world, liberal democratic states has fragmented since the Cold War. The European Union is looking to suppress internal dissent over controversial migration policies, to also realign and distance itself from the US militarily, and being toothless in the face of Communist China. Meanwhile, the US itself has been hit by two crises: the pandemic-era economic debilitation and the equally parlous social divide between anti-Western progressivism and the extremely self-centred, transactional America First agenda, which abhors international institutions and would only support British interests so long as they align with those of the US.
It is clear that neither ideologies, with the internationally consequential prominence they have now come to hold, will provide Westminster with the unconditional support it needs to protect British interests in dealings with the Chinese Communist Party nor secure favourable commercial agreements with the Far Eastern giant that British companies simply cannot afford to ignore.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A theoretical union between Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom- more commonly known as CANZUK- could fortify Britain’s position on the international stage, if organised correctly.
Having withdrawn from the EU (entry into which was accompanied with significant diplomatic and economic concessions by the European Communities Act 1972; the most significant of which being European Union Law binding preeminence upon all legislation passed by the UK Parliament- in areas including more than 50,000 laws across trade, agriculture, financial services, the environment, employment and immigration) the country should use this experience not to shut itself out from the international community and expose itself as vulnerable to the advances potential adversaries but forge an alliance that is more suited to its contemporary needs and aspirations. Just as Britain had allowed the EU to sap away its strength over several decades, it should learn from this not to diffuse its power.
Although restoring the British Empire is both unfeasible and not necessarily desirable, recalling the different developmental paths its disparate parts had followed since obtaining independence and their often diverging ideologies, CANZUK would allow Britain to recuperate some significant degree of its diplomatic strength. As Canada has access to the Northern Pacific, Northern Atlantic, and the Arctic Ocean and Australia to the Southern Pacific and the Indian Ocean, Britain would be able to project its power in a greater number of global regions and use this leverage not only to strengthen its ties with such allies as Japan and South Korea, but also to encourage greater trade concessions from other states. Moreover, the Arctic and the Antarctic hold immense untapped resources, capable of alimenting Britain’s economic and political ambitions- thereby also providing the resources necessary to deal with some of its domestic social tribulations.
The estimated population of CANZUK would exceed 136 million- a market for British goods that is larger than Germany and France combined. While we all-too-well remember the heavy trade provisions imposed on Britain by Brussels, this should by no means preclude our membership in multilateral trade agreements. Unlike the EU member-states, the CANZUK nations are very similar to each other in terms of living standards and GDP per capita (Canada- 46.232,99 USD, New Zealand- 41.945,33 USD, and United Kingdom- 42.943,90 USD).
Therefore, the latter would have little incentive to push for redistribution of wealth among each other, and the recently signed trade deals between Britain and Canada and Britain and Australia demonstrate this relationship of equals unequivocally, considering the free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia, and tariff-free trade on 98% of goods exported to Canada.
Immigration is likely not to be a cause for concern in the same way, either. Even if Britain were to cede some of its control over borders to placate its Commonwealth partners, relative parity in financial wellbeing would ensure that one-way migration does not take place. In Europe, many residents of Eastern European nations head westwards, having been left behind by their governments and promised to find paradise in the more developed states. Meanwhile, there is minimal eastward migration.
Contrastingly, due to similar economic and living conditions within the CANZUK camp, migration will be more balanced and far less destructive to the local communities, as migrants would predominantly arrive with both the same language, related history, and similar cultural inclinations towards cricket or the monarchy. The benefits for citizens of the CANZUK nations could be numerous and qualitatively meaningful- skilled workers who cannot find jobs at home will be offered jobs in other CANZUK nations, thus helping achieve equable and egalitarian growth across the interstate community.
Recently, there have been indications that the CANZUK states are prepared to expand their military strength. Australia revealed a 270 billion AUD defence plan, which includes acquiring hundreds of AGM-158C long-range anti-ship missiles, in direct response to the growing threat of China and due to the realisation that Australia cannot continue to rely on the USA for its own security. By 2023, the inaugural Type 26 frigates will be delivered to the UK, Australian, and Canadian navies, and this indicates that further cooperation in the defence sector may be on the way.
If CANZUK launches a collective defence industry initiative, it could swiftly propel the union's defence output past France and Germany and into Russian and American territory. Just as such countries as Australia and New Zealand would be interested in amassing their military capacity to dissuade Chinese encroachments, so could the UK benefit from a larger defence industry to maintain its standing in NATO and the UN Security Council, and strengthen ties with the Commonwealth at large.
We are heading towards a multipolar world, in which the UK would require more than just the United States’ backing to defend its strategic economic interests, and as the US is experiencing a profound identity crisis that seems without end, CANZUK could very well emerge as a better representation of the Anglophone community. We need such a superpower, for the UK cannot expect to negotiate favourable terms with China alone, owing to their diverging views on human rights and the former’s support for Hong Kong’s autonomy.
However, peaceful coexistence with Beijing is necessary. Not least because conflict is not feasible as things stand. Recent months have demonstrated that the traditional international organisations we depend on to rein in those state actors that flout the international rules-based system are weak. Closer union between Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK may provide the axis of strong diplomacy that the world is crying out for.
When the Chinese Communist Party announced the Hong Kong National Security Law, the world took an inward breath. China has such widespread influence that it can act with impunity, relying on much of the Human Rights Council’s connivance, despite contravening the rights that the Council was set up to protect and champion. The truth of the matter is that through Chinese investment, existing debt and their Belt and Road infrastructure projects, China has bought a great deal of support and silence from the international community.
CANZUK could act decisively using collective diplomatic clout spanning three continents with extensive global support, without being encumbered by the EU’s bureaucratic impotence or the corrupting effect of Chinese wolf warrior diplomacy on the UN member-states. For too long, Britons took for granted that the United States would protect the Western world order – and much more importantly – help Britain protect and advance its interests on the international stage. Now that the US is in shambles, we risk entering a period of an anarchic “every man for himself” diplomacy as the realists and liberal internationalists proclaim.
Surely, the UK would be better off uniting with ideologically compatible and economically comparable states to prevent Chinese encroachments by retaining international prestige and enhancing both military and economic capabilities. The CANZUK nations are defined by common principles which include but are not limited to democratic freedoms which stem from their Northwestern-European and Christian, cultural and moral, sociopolitical foundations. They must play a stronger role in defending this valuable heritage, rather than allowing fragmentation of the West to precipitate the unchecked rise of authoritarian China.
/ Disclaimer: Orthodox Conservatives represent a mixture of views on this issue. This does not equate to a policy endorsement as of this moment.
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