The United Kingdom was a superpower in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the British Empire spanned the globe. However, the UK’s status as a superpower declined steadily in the years following World War II. There are a few key events and factors that contributed to the end of the UK’s superpower era.
The Suez Crisis of 1956
The Suez Crisis was a major event that demonstrated the limits of British power. In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been controlled by British and French companies. In response, Britain, France, and Israel launched a military intervention to regain control of the canal. However, strong opposition from the United States and the Soviet Union forced the UK and its allies to withdraw their forces within a matter of weeks.
The Suez Crisis showed that the UK no longer had the military might to impose its will independently. It needed the support of other powers, especially the United States. But the US opposed the intervention, making it clear that the old imperial powers like Britain could no longer act unilaterally on the world stage.
The Postwar Economic Decline
Although the UK emerged victorious from World War II, the war took a heavy toll on the British economy. The UK had huge debts from the war and was now reliant on aid from the US. The British Empire was also becoming much too expensive to maintain.
At the same time, other economies like West Germany, Japan and the US surged ahead with more advanced industrial manufacturing. The UK struggled to compete and its share of global manufacturing exports dropped significantly. The British economy went into further decline in the 1970s due to labor strikes and the oil crisis.
Key economic indicators:
- British GDP fell from 25% of global GDP in 1950 to less than 10% by 1973.
- The UK’s share of global manufacturing exports dropped from 25% in 1950 to 10% by 1970.
- Britain’s national debt soared to over 200% of GDP by the mid-1970s.
This postwar economic decline spelt the end of Britain’s superpower status.
The End of Empire
The wave of decolonization after World War II also reduced Britain’s global influence. Many of Britain’s colonies in Asia, Africa and the Middle East gained independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Key colonies like India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and Palestine became independent states. The British Empire disintegrated rapidly.
Whereas the British Empire once spanned the globe, by the 1960s it was reduced to just small island territories. With the empire gone, Britain lost much of its military might and economic resources.
Timeline of British decolonization:
| Year | Territory |
|---|---|
| 1947 | India, Pakistan, Burma |
| 1948 | Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Palestine |
| 1956 | Sudan |
| 1957 | Malaysia, Ghana |
| 1960 | Nigeria |
| 1962 | Uganda, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago |
| 1963 | Kenya |
| 1964 | Malawi, Zambia |
Losing most of its empire meant Britain could no longer wield the global power and influence it once had.
The Rise of the US and Soviet Union as Superpowers
As Britain’s power declined, the United States and Soviet Union rose up to take its place as the world’s superpowers in the Cold War era. The US and USSR both built up immense military strength, including nuclear weapons capabilities and intercontinental ballistic missiles. They competed for geopolitical dominance and influence across the world.
Compared to the economic and military might of these two superpowers, Britain was now distinctly a second-rate power on the world stage. It maintained special ties with its former colonies through the Commonwealth, but did not have the resources to be a global leader anymore.
US and USSR military strength in the 1960s:
| Nation | Military Personnel | Nuclear Warheads | Military Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3.5 million | 29,000 | $50 billion |
| Soviet Union | 3.4 million | 8,000 | $40 billion |
| United Kingdom | 750,000 | 280 | $2.6 billion |
The UK was dwarfed by the two superpowers on every measure of military power. With its empire gone and economy ailing, Britain could no longer compete.
Loss of Global Financial Preeminence
Britain also lost its role as the world’s preeminent financial center in the postwar era. London had been the hub of global finance in the 19th and early 20th centuries, during the height of the British Empire. However, New York emerged as the new global financial capital after World War II.
Key factors contributing to London’s decline were the impact of the war and competition from New York. The Wall Street stock exchange overtook the London Stock Exchange in size and influence. The US dollar also replaced the British pound sterling as the dominant global reserve currency after 1945.
By the 1960s, major banks, corporations and investors started shifting their primary operations from London to New York. The UK could no longer claim the same financial power and centrality in global markets.
Shift from Pound to Dollar as Share of Foreign Reserves:
| Year | Pound Sterling | US Dollar |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 40% | 10% |
| 1945 | 30% | 50% |
| 1960 | 5% | 60% |
| 1970 | 2% | 80% |
Britain’s decline as the center of global finance marked a significant blow to its superpower status.
Conclusion
The UK’s era as a superpower effectively ended in the two decades following World War II. The Suez Crisis, loss of empire, postwar economic decline and rise of the US and Soviet Union as superpowers all combined to diminish British power. By the 1960s, the UK was clearly no longer a global hegemon in political, military or economic terms.
Britain remained an important regional power with permanent membership on the UN Security Council. But its days of commanding decisive global influence as an unrivaled superpower were over. The UK assumed a new role as a second-tier power aligned with the US in the Cold War order. The transition away from superpower status was a difficult adjustment, but an inevitable result of global shifts in the balance of power after the major upheaval of World War II.