From Competition to Partnership: The Lessons of Anglo-American Cooperation in Central America during the 19th Century

A response to this piece written by Jordan M. Sotudeh can be found here.

Abstract: No reasonable person would argue that in 50 years the relative position of the United States in East Asia will remain the same as it is today. In large part this is due to one factor: the growth in the power of the People’s Republic of China. The policy debate has consequently moved on from whether the United States needs to adapt to this emerging reality but rather how it does so. In the following article I point to lessons that may be learned from an historical example of two states competing for regional hegemony: Great Britain and the United States in Central America in the mid- 19th century. I argue that Britain, by abandoning its pretensions to a regional monopoly was able to peacefully secure a degree of restraint on the part of the rising power, the United States, and in so doing transformed a potentially volatile situation into one of constructive partnership which ultimately improved outcomes for both parties. I conclude by drawing out the policy implications for the United States from this historical precedent.