Peculiarities and contradictions of geoeconomic choice of Great Britain in changing coordinates of the modern world
A.N. Yeletsky,
аспирант кафедры мировой экономики и международных отношений, Южный федеральный университет (344010, Россия, г. Ростов-на-Дону, ул. Горького, 88; e-mail: ane904@yandex.ru)
Аннотация. Анализируются особенности современного положения Великобритании в глобальной экономике. Подчёркивается её роль как одного из локальных центров влияния в Европейском Союзе. Рассматриваются «особые отношения» между Англией и Соединёнными Штатами в контексте формирования новой «Англосаксонской империи». Особое внимание обращено на ключевую роль Великобритании в альянсе англоговорящих наций.
Abstract. Peculiarities of the modern position of Great Britain in the global economy are analyzed. Its role as one of the local centers of influence in the European Union is emphasized. «Special relationship» between England and the United States in the context of formation of a new «Anglo-Saxon empire» is examined. Particular attention is paid to the key role of Great Britain in the alliance of English-speaking nations.
Ключевые слова: глобальная неопределённость, дуализм, бюджетный пакт, налог Тобина, глобальные финансовые центры, система трансатлантических отношений, «особые отношения», «Англосаксонская империя».
Keywords: global uncertainty, dualism, budget pact, Tobin tax, global financial centers, system of transatlantic relations, «special relationship», «Anglo-Saxon Empire».
Introduction
Under modern conditions of the uncertainty of further evolution of the world economy the unique role of Great Britain, as one of the leading actors in the contradictory system of the international relations, is increasingly noticeable. This uniqueness is caused by a peculiar dualism of its geoeconomic and geopolitical functions in the modern world. On the one hand, this country, certainly, acts as one of the local centers of economic influence within EU. However, on the other hand, Great Britain maintains traditional special economic and political relations with the USA and acts as an indispensable and significant element of global Anglo-Saxon system, which can be defined as a new "Anglo-Saxon empire").
British role in the European integration process
The United Kingdom is the second economy in the European Union according to GDP by purchasing parity power, making up more than 14% out of the total European economy. The contribution of Great Britain to EU budget is also second-largest after Germany. The United Kingdom is the leader by the number of agreements concerning public-private partnership (44 agreements out of all 112 projects in the European Union at the end of 20l0). As a whole, during the 1990s and 2000s the share of Great Britain was 67.1% of the total European number of public-private projects, and was also 52.5% of the cost of all these projects [1]. Furthermore, Great Britain possesses the greatest scientific and technical potential in the European Union, taking the second place in the world by number of Nobel Prizes (after the USA). At the same time, "Europeaniza-tion" of the foreign trade communications of Great
Britain, occurring within the last decades and considerably amplified after its accession to EU, was replaced by gradual decrease in the share of the European Union in the British foreign trade. So, if in 1999 the share of EU in the British export reached nearly 59%, and the share of this region in the import made up 54%, in 2012 less than a half of a foreign trade turnover is the share of the European countries. However, it is necessary to admit that seven countries out of ten leading importers to Britain are EU states.
In addition, the fact that Great Britain plays a special role in the instigation of internal intensity in EU owing to its traditional opposition to the dominating axis Berlin-Paris. «People feel that the EU is a one-way process, a great machine that sucks up decision-making from national parliaments to the European level until everything is decided by the EU. That needs to change. If we cannot show that decision-making can flow back to national parliaments, then the system will become democratically unsustainable», - declared William Hague [2]. So, deep and bitter British disappointment in current European Union's policy becomes absolutely obvious.
It is even more important that Great Britain transformed into peculiar "bridge", into the major intermediary within system of the transatlantic relations [3]. This situation can also be interpreted in another context: as a role of the peculiar "Trojan horse" of the USA in the community of European states ("cheval de Troie" américain). It is known that Charles de Gaulle adhered to this opinion concerning Great Britain, and it's worthy to say that the history of the European integration shows significant number of facts which can be interpreted as a confirmation of this point of view [4].
Journal of Economy and entrepreneurship, Vol. 7, Nom. 12-4
A.N. Yeletsky Peculiarities and contradictions of geoeconomic choice of Great Britain in changing coordinates of the modern world
The importance of an intermediary role of Great Britain has been increasing constantly for last decades. This specific role was to a great extent caused by post-industrial transformation of the global economy. From the so-called "sick man of Europe" - the country with stagnating traditional industrial branches, depressive areas and numerous strikes of workers like during the Winter of Discontent - Great Britain turned into one of the leaders of global information revolution and the center of regulation of world economic communications. The impetus to rise of a British role was given by fast strengthening of domination of financial and speculative sector of the world economy over the real one. Along with globalization of the world economic information, computerization and Internet distribution this process led to sharp strengthening of a role of London as global information financial center and one of key elements within Anglo-Saxon system, and, probably, the most important element regarding financial regulation [5]. "New York is considerably behind London in trade of securities of foreign issuers and operations with international assets of banks... The vast majority of researchers distinguishes a triumvirate of the major financial centers of the world: London, New York, Tokyo — with the leading role of the capital of Great Britain ... According to TeleGeography company, considering only international traffic which passes on international backbones, the largest hub of the Internet is London (1,1 Tbit / with; peak load - 439 Gbit / c), and the main route — London — New York (320 Gbit / c; peak load - 153 Gbit / c)" [6].
One of the key indicators of dynamism of the modern globalizing society is an increasing business mobility. According to this indicator, London is also the leader in the world - the annual aviation passenger traffic of London's hub makes up 125 million people, while in New York- 100 million, in Tokyo -90, in Paris - 80 million [6]. Thus, it is quite possible to state that the purpose which had been formulated by M. Thatcher - «we will make Britain great again» - became completely achievable in new global realities of the post-industrial transformation.
At the same time, the strengthening of a geoeconomic role of Great Britain gave a new impetus to the aggravation of contradictions and tension within EU. From the formal point of view the strengthening of some part of integration group strengthens it as a whole, however strengthening of geoeconomic positions of London led to significant growth of its ambitions within EU. In any case, Great Britain is not inclined to consider strategic prospects of this integration group in respect of formation of the «Franco-German empire». In previous years it was clearly shown in a special position of Great Britain on a currency problem. England not only didn't join the eurozone, but also stimulated positions of the so-called "eurosceptics" who are guided by preservation of currency independence of the certain countries. Great Britain has recently declined the German and French joint proposal to introduce the regional version of Tobin tax while eleven Euro-
pean states have already supported this initiative [7]. However, the position of Great Britain supported by threats of the veto, impedes an introduction of the tax on financial transaction, which could be put into force in all European Union, due to the obligatory necessity of a coordination of this step and subsequently its adoption by all twenty seven European member states. Refusal of accession to the budgetary pact became the most striking last example of a role of Great Britain as the country initiating tendencies of heterogeneity within EU. This fact has a special importance in the context of a passionate aspiration of the European continental «locomotive» to strengthen and deepen further integration. Under such conditions British estrangement intensifies conspicuously and noticeably. Moreover, British Prime Minister Cameron even declared for the possible referendum concerning advisability of English membership in the European Union [8].
Great Britain as a key node of AngloSaxon world
At the same time, since W.Churchill and especially M. Thatcher times, economical and political contours of the forming Anglo-Saxon empire appear more and more distinctly. It is based on extremely close interaction of the states of so-called "Anglosphere". Obviously, the USA and Great Britain are objectively the main nodes of Anglosphere. Admittedly both English and the American politicians and experts consider «Special Relationship» of two related nations as leading allied bonds of the modern world [9].
It is possible to note that historically AngloSaxon hegemony is caused by struggle and consecutive defeat of a number of global competitors: Spanish «universal mona
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