Editor’s Note:
The idea of a CANZUK alliance has resurfaced in recent years and often appears in international political and diplomatic debates. However, most readers in the Chinese-speaking world may be unfamiliar with its historical roots. This article begins with the late-19th-century concept of the “Imperial Federation,” examining how English-speaking countries once sought to build a supranational union under the British Empire, and why the project ultimately failed. Understanding this history not only sheds light on the intellectual origins of CANZUK, but also helps us reflect on the challenges and limitations facing any renewed attempt at cross-national integration in today’s Anglosphere.
The recent shifts in US foreign policy regarding its traditional allies such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK have revived interest in CANZUK, a concept with roots stretching over a century. This multi-part article seeks to look at CANZUK through the historical understanding of its ideological predecessor, the Imperial Federation, before examining the benefits and problems that it faces in today's world.
Imperial Federation – The Vision
“Britain had conquered and peopled half the world in a fit of absence of mind”
– Sir John Seeley (1914)
In the late 19th Century, at the height of the British Empire, the largest global empire with the moniker of “the empire on which the sun never sets”, Britain faced a number of challenges. Although successfully drove the 1st Industrial Revolution which saw Britain in its splendid isolation, the 2nd Industrial Revolution saw the newly emergent German Empire as well as the post-reconstruction US closing the economic gap. (Taylor, 1957 pp.xxx-xxxii; Macmillan 2014 pp. 15-16, 37-38; Deudney 2001, p.192)
Whilst the Royal Navy maintained supremacy in a mixture of gun boat diplomacy and offshore balancing, much of Britain’s latent strength stemmed from its global presence of British colonies and its potential concentration. (Neilson 2003) However, the growing cost of empire strained finances as London bore the brunt of the cost of defence whilst the rest of the colonies benefitted from the Royal Navy’s vast reach without sufficiently contributing to its upkeep. (Macmillan 2014, pp. 37, 107-108, 114) At the zenith of Pax Britannica, surrendering control of the world and by extension, trade, was not an option especially when states like Wilhelmine Germany were vying for their ‘place in the sun’ to demonstrate national strength and vitality. (Macmillan 2014 pp. 37, 251)
