CANZUK revisited
Discussion
Over the last few weeks it has been interesting to read various Canadian outpourings of grief around the Trump positions (51st state etc).
It has got me thinking about CANZUK again.
For those not getting the reference CANZUK is the idea that the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia should formalise a union (details tbc) which unifies them as a global presence.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANZUK
Typically this has been advocated by post Brexit types but seems to have had some hold in Canada where both parties advocated some further investigation but less so in the antipodes.
It kind of dribbled out as an idea tho it does have some relevance to both the five eyes agreement and also AUKUS.
However given the events of the last couple of months re Trump and US behaviour I wonder whether this may actually be an idea which still has some mileage. Not least Canada with the trumpean nonsense around it becoming part of the US.
Likewise as far as AUS and NZ are concerned they cannot have not watched events in Washington DC and wondered exactly what they would do in the context of a China scenario and Trump’s possible responses.
Carney is openly pushing for closer ties to the UK as some kind of protection from possible US nonsense.
I’m intrigued whether this Brexit dead end might have some legs.
To put it in context this was a scathing article from Unherd a few years ago smashing the concept:
https://unherd.com/2020/08/why-canzuk-is-an-absurd...
Rereading that strikes me as an example of how current affairs move swiftly and assumptions are over turned.
It has got me thinking about CANZUK again.
For those not getting the reference CANZUK is the idea that the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia should formalise a union (details tbc) which unifies them as a global presence.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CANZUK
Typically this has been advocated by post Brexit types but seems to have had some hold in Canada where both parties advocated some further investigation but less so in the antipodes.
It kind of dribbled out as an idea tho it does have some relevance to both the five eyes agreement and also AUKUS.
However given the events of the last couple of months re Trump and US behaviour I wonder whether this may actually be an idea which still has some mileage. Not least Canada with the trumpean nonsense around it becoming part of the US.
Likewise as far as AUS and NZ are concerned they cannot have not watched events in Washington DC and wondered exactly what they would do in the context of a China scenario and Trump’s possible responses.
Carney is openly pushing for closer ties to the UK as some kind of protection from possible US nonsense.
I’m intrigued whether this Brexit dead end might have some legs.
To put it in context this was a scathing article from Unherd a few years ago smashing the concept:
https://unherd.com/2020/08/why-canzuk-is-an-absurd...
Rereading that strikes me as an example of how current affairs move swiftly and assumptions are over turned.
unherd said:
However, foreign policy and grand strategy entails far more than this in the real world, and in the real world, the primary defence relationship of each CANZUK Nation is with the United States, and not with each other, and the primary focus of each nation is its own continental sphere.
Hmm. How do we feel about that today?rodericb said:
A bit like the British Empire then? But with less countries in it now than it had previously....
And less money and power and influence. America can laugh off even the three of us together.
Also, skirting around an issue a bit: what's in it for the canz element? The uk today is not the place it was 100-150 years ago.
It's objectively far better, but globally it's slipped somewhat, and any notion of a special relationship is about to be tested.
I guess the strength of it is the cultural alignment of canz with the UK, though the French bit might object.
It seems more like a idea to pass off the Americans (trump) and man we'll known for having a thick skin and being able to shake off perceived insults without any reaction...
Closer co-operation and economic, trade and defence ties makes perfect sense for all four countries, especially with a nutter in charge of the US.
Being independent of the EU also increasingly looks like a good idea as the EU takes a more aggressive stance in pushing back against the US. I don't blame them, but it doesn't necessarily suit us to do so.
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