英语国家社会与文化论文How-does-the-History-of-the-UK-Influenc

HowdoestheHistoryoftheUKInfluenceitsModernForeignPoliciesAsisknowntousall,theBritainoncehadafameoftheEmpireonwhichthesunneverset,whichclearlyshowshowstrongandprosperoustheBritainwasinthe17thcentury.Infact,alltheBritishpeopleareveryproudofitsglorioushistory,justlikeusChinese.ItisobviousthatthehistoryoftheUKhasaninevitableinfluenceonitsmodernforeignpolicies,buthow?Now,let’stalkaboutthisfurther.ItsrelationshipwiththeUSAWeallknowthatAmericawasoneofthecoloniesoftheBritainbeforeitbecamepoliticallyindependent.However,sincetheSecondWorldWar,theUSA,alongwiththeformerSovietUnion,replacedtheBritain’sstatusintheworld.AstheBritain’seconomicsystemwasbadlydamagedinthewar,theworldmarketwhichwasfoundedonthepoundwasdifficulttomaintain.ThustheUSAgraduallyestablishedacapitalistmonetarysystemwhichbasedontheUSdollar.ThoughtheUSAtooktheplaceoftheBritain,theUKseemstobefriendlytotheUS.Furthermore,weoftenfindthattheUKfollowsthestepsoftheUSandalwayssupportitininternationalaffairs.Forexample,BritainsupportedtheU.S.waronIraqwhilemostoftheothercountrieswerestronglyagainst.AsfarasI’mconcerned,thereasonsareasfollows.Inthefirstplace,sincetheUSAwasindependentfromtheUK,bothofthemsharealotincommon,especiallyintheirpoliticalopinions.What’smore,thesimilarideologyandculturemakeiteasyandconvenientforthemtocommunicatewitheachother.Lastbutnotleast,astheUKisnotaspowerfulasitwasbefore,itneedsthesupportfromtheUSinordertoexpanditsinternationalinfluence.NomatterhowwejudgethoseUK’smodernpolicieswhicharerelatedtotheUSA,wecancometotheconclusionthattheUKandtheUSAhaveacloserelationship,butwhy?Obviously,theformerhistorybetweenthetwoofthemisenoughtoanswerthequestion.ItsmembershipintheEuropeanUnionTheBritain’sattitudetowardsEuropeanintegrationisquiteunique.Duringtheearlypostwarperiod,theBritaindeliberatelykeptadistancefromit.Then,forcedbytheseveresituation,theUKappliedtojointheEuropeanCommunity.However,theBritainhasalwaysbeenadifficultpartnercountry.ThecurrentBritishgovernment'spolicytowardstheEuropeanUnionisneitherfullyacceptablenordeterminedtoquitfromit.Accordingtome,thisphenomenonhasadeeprootofitshistory.SincetheBritainwasoneofthemostpowerfulcountriesintheworld,itisdifficultforthegovernmenttomakeitsmindtoshareacertaindegreeofitsnationalsovereigntywiththeEUgovernment.Besides,Britain'seconomicpolicyandsocialwelfaresystemaregreatlydifferentfromEuropeancontinentalcountries.Asamatteroffact,theUK'seconomicstructureismoreclosetotheU.S.Also,theeconomiccycleissynchronizedwiththeUnitedStates,butnotsynchronizedwiththeEuropeancontinentalcountries.AllthefactorstogethermaketheUKplayarelativelyconservativeroleintheEuropeanUnion.Thenlet’sfocusonthequestionagain.HowdoestheHistoryoftheUKInfluenceitsModernForeignPolicies?Asweallknow,whathashappenedtoapersonbeforehasagreateffectonhisattitudetowardslife.Itisthesamewithacountry.TheglorioushistorysometimesmakestheUKbeinadilemma.Ontheonehand,itshistoryenhancesitspeople'snationalself-esteemandself-confidencewhenthecountrydealswiththeinternationalissues.However,ontheotherhand,theinherentpridelimitsthepoliticians’vision.WhatIwanttopointoutisthatnomatterwhattheforeignpolicieswillbe,theyareallmadetoservethecountryanditsleadingclass.Thebasicstartingpointandstandpointareitsnationalinterests.What’smore,wearesupposedtobeobjectivewhenwearejudgingsomehistoricalphenomena.Itwouldbemuchbetterifwecouldtakemostofthebackgroundinformationintoconsideration.HowdoestheHistoryoftheUKInfluenceitsModernForeignPolicies国际商务外语学院2010级英语2班2121010223姚晔