The above quotes mirror the romantic notions of the Anglo- American relationship which Margaret Thatcher long propagated in her writings and public speeches. Thatcher's rhetoric echoes the sentiments of another British prime minister, Winston S. Churchill (British prime minister 1940–5; 1951–5) who declared in 1946 that the English-speaking peoples shared a common heritage which obligated both countries to work together to maintain international security in the post-war world. This book explores crucial aspects of the Anglo-American strategic and diplomatic relationship during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, 1977–81. Throughout this book a rather different impression of the Anglo- American relationship emerges than the one suggested by the opening quotations. Whilst the subsequent chapters reveal a relationship that was indeed characterised by strategic and diplomatic cooperation, it was also a relationship afflicted by strategic, political and economic competition and rivalry.

Several interconnected topics and questions are addressed throughout the work. Included is an analysis of both American and British policies towards Carter's international human rights agenda and efforts to improve NATO's defence posture. More specifically, the study sheds new light on Anglo-American cooperation and competition as it related to implementing a majority rule settlement in Rhodesia, the taking of American hostages in Iran and finding a joint response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The subsequent diplomacy pertaining to possible economic sanctions against the Soviet Union and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games is also explored.