When analysing the Anglo-American relationship during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, it is evident that disagreement between the two countries on a number of international topics of mutual interest was a prominent aspect of the relationship. Many of these differences can be explained by virtue of the fact that the United States was a global power and the United Kingdom was simply not. As one author has suggested, ‘Small powers have a whole set of different priorities in their foreign policies than great powers.’ Such logic helps to explain why Anglo-American differences during the period under examination here were so considerable. Taking the example of the SALT II treaty, for instance, the Carter administration's decision to pursue discussions with Moscow bilaterally was the only reasonable way in which to bring about an agreement in the timeframe afforded to the president. Yet by operating bilaterally and raising difficult questions about arms limitations it created considerable apprehension in London. The conduct of foreign policy often involves balancing competing interests, and in this regard the promotion of US interests was perceived in London as potentially damaging to British interests.

Though Carter had come to office declaring that he wanted to improve America's alliance relations, the SALT II negotiations remained the exclusive superpower domain that they had originally been during the presidencies of Nixon and Ford. In the Middle East peace negotiations, Carter charted his own course independently of London. The creation of the Camp David Accords that established a formal Israeli–Egyptian peace agreement was exclusively negotiated between Egypt, Israel and the United States. The British role was largely restricted to providing a neutral location for the discussions at Leeds Castle in July 1978. As one British official noted, ‘throughout the history of Arab–Israeli negotiation, [the United States] have always found their position to be more flexible and pressure to be more effective when they are working on their own’.