The era of détente

The period preceding Carter's presidency was a diff cult one for the United States. Undoubtedly, the Nixon administration had accomplished a number of significant things in the international realm but with the Watergate scandal forcing Nixon to resign his office in August 1974 and America's eventual evacuation of Vietnam in April 1975 it is with good reason that Henry Kissinger termed this period the ‘Years of Upheaval’. Given these circumstances, it is little wonder that the American electorate in 1976 wanted an ‘outsider’ to assume the presidency and to bring a fresh approach to the conduct of foreign affairs. Carter's election brought a president to the White House determined to promote a post-Vietnam foreign policy that would not be dictated solely by Cold War considerations.

For the United Kingdom the 1970s was a time marked by continued relative economic decline, industrial unrest, political uncertainty and global military retrenchment. The decision by the Heath government in 1970 to endorse Wilson's East of Suez withdrawal meant that by 1977 the United Kingdom would no longer retain significant global military bases. The outbreak of the fourth Arab–Israeli war in October 1973 and the subsequent Arab oil embargo added to Britain's significant economic problems. Such were these problems that by the middle of the 1970s the United Kingdom was being described by political commentators as the ‘sick man of Europe’. The extent of this sickness was highlighted in 1976 as the British government had to resort to the ignominy of accepting a financial bailout from the IMF. Further damaging British sensibilities was the fact that the British government had been treated by the IMF as ‘just another’ country.

The immediate years prior to Carter's election had also been difficult ones for the Anglo-American relationship. Disagreement, antagonism and discord appeared to be the main characteristics of the relationship during the government of Edward Heath (1970–4). Anglo-American disagreement was so severe that the likes of Nixon and Kissinger even spoke about the end of the ‘special relationship’.