CANZUK is the proposal for closer relations between Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; and while opinions on how close the 4 nations should be vary, at its core CANZUK seeks to establish closer cooperation in areas such as trade, defence and international diplomacy. The CANZUK nations share a unique bond with a shared history, common political system, cultural and often familial links, a common commitment to and respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law and broadly maintain a shared respect for each other.
For a more detailed understanding of CANZUK see our other blog posts.
Fragility in the current world order
The current world order is a result of the aftermath of both the second world war and the cold war, before WW2 there were several global superpowers the USA, USSR, the British empire, Germany, Japan and the French Empire, with many smaller regional powers such as Italy, China or Brazil acting as secondary powers, this multipolar world was well established but would not survive the coming decades.
The aftermath of WW2 devastated the major European powers, crippling their economies and bringing about decolonisation, with the Suez crisis in 1956 proving that France and Britain were now secondary powers within the emerging cold war between the United States and Soviet Union, bringing the world into a period of bipolarity.
During this time many of the international bodies that we take for granted today were established, the UN, NATO and the foundations of the EU just to name a few, these institutions reshaped the way international diplomacy worked, accelerating globalisation and establishing the precedents of human rights and conflict avoidance.
The fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent end of the cold war, left the United States as the sole superpower and global hegemon establishing a new unipolar world dominated by the US and western ideals of democracy, capitalism and international law. This world order has thus far defined the late 20th century and early 21st century but it is now becoming increasingly clear that it is fracturing.
Due to the spread of social media, Russian disinformation campaigns, political disillusionment following the wars in the middle east, immigration concerns and a whole host of other issues, across the developed world we are seeing a dramatic increase in political polarisation and the rise of extremist parties and beliefs. As a result many countries have become destabilised while Russia and China have become emboldened.
With the rise of Donald Trump in the United States international norms are being undermined more than ever before, the increasingly hostile and isolationist positions of the United States have fundamentally challenged the world order the US has spent the last century building. In particular the continued dismissal and neglect of American allies and the repeated threats towards Canada and Greenland from the US administration has shown that western countries can no longer rely on the United States as a trustworthy ally.
This leaves middle powers such as the CANZUK nations in a vulnerable position, with the US no longer serving as a reliable ally and becoming a potential threat, countries more than ever need to diversify their diplomatic and economic relations. Over the next decade the world will likely move back towards a period of multipolarity and if middle powers do not work to establish more robust and diversified connections they will be left behind and dominated by the USA, Russia and China.
How CANZUK addresses these issues
Individually the CANZUK nations have a large degree of influence with all 4 possessing high levels of soft power, strong economies and high quality militaries, with the UK also holding a permanent seat on the UN security council and possessing nuclear weapons. However, while none of the CANZUK countries are remotely irrelevant on the world stage, they can not negotiate as equal powers with the United States or European Union and can do little to combat the likes of Russia and China. By working together however, the CANZUK nations will possess greater diplomatic and economic leverage allowing for more opportunity to negotiate on equal terms with allies and stand strong against hostile entities.
CANZUK alone can not offset the risk posed by the breakdown of the global order, but it can go a long way to safeguard the stability, security and independence of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as well as potentially acting as a framework for other middle powers to imitate, further diversifying the global arena and preventing the risk of the global superpowers becoming hegemons.
CANZUK reduces the reliance on the US for several reasons, first of all by working more closely together the CANZUK nations can assure mutual security and cooperate on a variety of military operations and exercises, they can also work more closely together with innovations both for military and non military use. Furthermore, by increasing trade with each other the nations can eliminate dependency on US products and services while boosting the economies of each other.
CANZUK is sometimes promoted to serve as a replacement to the EU for the UK and the west more broadly, but CANZUK would be most effective when working closely with the EU due to both blocs being founded on similar ideals and could effectively work with each other to safeguard the international community and strengthen each other.
Currently there are two western pillars the US and the EU, with the US until recently being the dominant power and acting as the de facto leader of the western world, with the US retreating from its global responsibilities, it is only a matter of time until the US can no longer be considered a western pillar. CANZUK can replace the US as the second western pillar and work alongside the EU to safeguard democracy, freedom and the rule of law as well as defend against erratic outside threats.
CANZUK taking on this role would not only benefit the CANZUK nations but also help other western powers such as Japan, South Korea or Taiwan and also be able to work with neutral powers like India or Indonesia in order to safeguard against rising Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region. CANZUK is much better suited to this role than the EU as CANZUK is a globe spanning bloc while the EU is concentrated entirely within Europe (aside from some overseas territories).
Now with numerous political parties across CANZUK nations considering or actively backing the proposal and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently calling for middle powers to unite, CANZUK is no longer a dream – its our shared future.