Before Fusion: AUKUS

By Artem V. Shamsutdinov
March 8th, 2024

The reasoning for invading Iraq has wider multifaceted regional basis and goes deeper than the misguided effort to remove a security threat or the blatant pursuit of an opportunistic war to solidify hegemony.

The Western Civilization starts with Greek democracy of the privileged many, moves to the republic of the powerful few and goes to the more free vassage of the chosen noble. The non-violent and universal Christianity played a critical role in moderating the feudal rights and its subsequent relaxation added a resource perspective to subsequent Western expansion.

AUKUS is a security partnership between the USA, UK and Australia. The three constituent countries of AUKUS descended from Great Britain, which developed the fastest among the Western nations. Its geography acted as both a protective barrier and as an incentive to have a more moderated, trade oriented outlook on warfare.

AUKUS is a stable, potentially long-lasting military alliance because its members:

Do not compete for supremacy in the alliance
Are all naval powers and have a significant convergence of interests
Share the same language and culture
Are significantly geographically apart

Have productive internal contradictions

Britain

Early History

Agriculture was initially introduced to the British Isles around 6000 years ago. It became widespread in the Bronze Age, starting about 4500 years ago. The Stonehenge was constructed between 5100 and 2600 years ago with the large stones being placed between 4600 and 4400 years ago. By around 3600 years ago British tin was exported across Europe.

The British Iron age started about 2800 years ago after the collapse of the Bronze Age civilization and trade routes. At the same time Britain developed close ties with nearby Continental Europe. During this time Celtic languages spread throughout the British Isles. During this time brochs and hillforts became widespread in Britain. By 2100 years ago the population of Great Britain could have been as large as 3-4 million, mostly concentrated in the agricultural lands of the South. The land was covered by tribal kingdoms, associated with various hillforts. Celtic societies had a priestly class of Druids that acted as religious and legal authorities. By 2050 years ago Britain had established diplomatic and trade relations with Rome.

Roman period

Starting with the mid 1st century and until the early 5th century most of Great Britain was under Roman rule. Roman occupation was met with widespread rebellion and several invasion attempts by neighboring forces, and for much of Roman history of Great Britain a large garrison force was stationed on the island. Because of a large concentration of military forces in Britain it created an alternate "power-center" in the Roman Empire, sometimes shifting its loyalties to various groups of Roman elites during the many internal Roman struggles for control. The north of the island was never conquered by the Romans and defensive fortifications had to be maintained.

In the early 5th century due to continuing struggles for internal control Roman military presence was withdrawn from Britain. Subsequently the control of Britain fragmented. Per British tradition to assist in fighting against existing foes Saxons were invited into the island. By the turn of the 7th century Saxons occupied part of Britain and many Britons fled to areas outside of the island.

Early Medieval period

In the 5th and 6th centuries Anglo-Saxon immigrants increasingly began settling in Britain. This led to the spread of the Old English language (replaced by Middle English in mid 12th century, Early Modern English in mid 15th century and Late Modern English at the turn of the 19th century) and the creation of the English cultural identity. The culture of English superiority to the "backwards" Celtic fringes of Wales, Scotland and Cornwell began in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the 13th century English colonisation started in Wales.

In the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity (after the initial Roman efforts of the late 4th century). Also in the 7th century the Kingdom of Mercia controlled much of England though competition for control of territory continued through the 8th century. In the late 8th century Vikings began raiding Great Britain. From mid 9th to the mid 11th centuries a struggle for territorial control ensued between the local forces and Vikings. The English navy was first mentioned in the mid 9th century and became important at the turn of the 13th century (after the loss of Normandy).

The Kingdom of England was formed in the early 10th century and by the mid 11th century England was a strong, centralized state. At that time England was violently conquered by Normans, which replaced the elite structure of the country. The Normans introduced the feudal system and abolished slavery. In the 12th and 13th centuries infighting among the Anglo-Norman elites led to a multitude of civil wars.

Medieval period

In the early 13th century in an attempt to restore peace British elites signed the Magna Carta, temporarily decentralizing previously purely monarchical rule among the highest level of elites. In the early to mid 13th century the decline of feudalism led to the culture of ruling councils evolving into early annual Parliaments, with the concept of representation introduced with inclusion of proctors of clergy. In the late 13th century the Commons of knights and burgesses began to be summoned regularly. Starting with the mid 14th century Parliament became an important institution in England and the Upper and Lower Chambers were established. The modern structure of the English Parliament was established in the 16th century, with the monarchs increasingly realizing that they needed parliament to legitimise the majority of their decisions. First general elections were first run at the turn of the 19th century and universal suffrage was introduced in the 1920s.

In the 14th century the Great Famine and the Black Death killed around half of England's population. Hardships caused by this and following events led to the Peasants' Revolt in the late 14th century. In the 14th and 15th centuries British entered the offensive Hundred Years' War with France which eventually resulted in a military failure. In the mid 15th century a sequence of bloody civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses.

Tudor period

In the 16th century the British elites forced the Church of England to break away from the Catholic Church. A number of internal and external inter-elite and armed conflicts were associated with this process. Known as the English Reformation it resulted in increased sovereignty of the English state.

In the early 16th century the English navy greatly expanded and became a permanent force. This provided an effective deterrent against foreign invasion.

The recognizable roots of modern day English culture are traced to this period.

During the late 15th century and 16th century six Anglo-French Wars took place. In the late 16th century Spain attempted a massive naval invasion of Britain, which was successfully repelled by the British fleet. Subsequently British colonization of the Americas started in the late 16th century, with the first successful colony established in the early 17th century.

Stuart period

In the mid 17th century, after a period of personal rule by divine right a series of large-scale civil wars took place in Britain. During them a short-lived republic was established. As a result of this a common understanding was reached that neither the English monarch nor the Parliament could govern alone.

During the republic the first English standing army was established. Defence pressure against large standing armies of Spain and France caused permanent re-establishment of the standing army by the late 17th century.

Also in the late 17th century supremacy of the Parliament over the monarchs was established with the adoption of Bills of Rights in England and Scotland, with a philosophical agreement that all of the country's elites should have consent.

In the early 18th century Acts of the Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain. Before then England and Scotland were separate countries with the same ruler for over a century. This greatly reduced the risk of war between the two states.

In the mid 17th century three Anglo-Dutch Wars took place due to political disputes and increasing trade competition, with the Dutch gaining advantage in the short term. During the entire Stuart period England continued its series of armed conflicts with the increasingly dominating France, making alliances with other European naval and land powers. With the Dutch being tied in a land war in Europe, England came out of the period as the stronger colonial sovereignty.

Georgian era

By the early 18th century Britain was the most prosperous nation in the world, with the focus not on territorial expansion but on building a worldwide trading network. This led to development of the most capable fleet in the world and development of trading monopolies such as the East India Company, which colonised India, and the Royal African Company which focused on the slave trade. The policy of Mercantilism was imposed on the colonies which promoted partnership between merchants and the government to increase political power and private wealth, while stifling development of rival empires.

As a result of a global conflict with France in the mid 18th century the "First" British Empire became the dominant colonial sovereignty of the world and ended with the loss of the American Revolutionary War. The subsequent "Second" British Empire compensated for the loss of American colonies by colonizing Australia and New Zealand and focusing on Asia. In the early 19th century the East India Company gained control of the bulk of India through conquest.

Also in the early 19th century Britain worked with the United States to institute the Monroe Doctrine. This had the effect of blocking other colonial powers from expanding colonies in the New World and directly benefited Britain.

In the mid 18th century the Industrial Revolution started in Britain, which by then was the leading commercial sovereignty (with the development of trade and business being the main causes). By the late 18th century industrialization became a rapid process, with the rate of development slowing down by the mid 19th century. In parallel Britain underwent an Agricultural Revolution which contributed to rapid growth of population.

At the turn of the 19th century Great Britain and Ireland united and the slave trade was abolished. In the middle of the 19th century slavery was abolished in the entirety of the British Empire.

From the mid 18th century Britain was in a period of continual warfare, with France being the main opponent. Britain won most conflicts, with the notable exception of the American Revolution. Starting with the beginning of the 19th century the Royal Navy was the overwhelming naval force on the planet leading to a long period of relative peace for the British Empire and the Pax Britannica lasting from the Napoleonic Wars and until World War I.

Victorian era

In the mid 19th century the Great Famine in Ireland highlighted the failures of British colonial policy. While being involved in many armed conflicts, during the Victorian era Britain did not experience any conflicts with other colonial empires until the end of the 19th century.

In the mid 19th century Britain took steps to prevent revolutionary scenarios like what happened in France at the end of the 18th century. In the mid 19th century monarchy had to accept the post of the Prime Minister with the Westminster (cabinet) system of government. The representation of the professional and business middle-class also improved greatly. In the late 19th century representation improved for the working class as well. In effect revolutionary reforms took place, largely peacefully.

By the mid 19th century Britain was considered to be the "workshop of the world", made possible by free trade imperialism. In the late 19th century the industrialization of the United States, Germany and Japan led to decline of British industrial supremacy. In the 19th century, while largely abstaining from affairs of continental Europe, Brittain exerted major political and economic influence throughout Latin America and Asia.

In the mid 19th century to prevent the growth in influence of the Russian Empire, which could result in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, scramble for its territory and start a large-scale war, Britain (and France) intervened in the Crimean War. In the late 19th century Britain along with the western European great powers intervened politically to prevent complete defeat of the Ottoman Empire by the Russian Empire. Throughout the 19th century the British Empire competed with the Russian Empire for influence in Central Asia in a rivalry known as the Great Game.

Also in the mid 19th century, during the American Civil War, the British elite supported the Confederate States of America due their status as a resource base for the British textile industry. The possibility of British intervention on behalf of the Confederacy ended when the end to slavery was announced by the Union as a war goal.

In the mid 19th century the British Empire fought the Opium wars with Imperial China. At about the same time the East India Company continued annexation of various parts of the Indian subcontinent and fought wars with local forces. After a large-scale Indian rebellion the territorial control of India was transferred to the British Crown. This started the long period of British Raj, which lasted until 1947. Partially due to mismanagement during the overall British rule (and especially in the late 19th century) India suffered a number of horrible famins.

In the late 19th century the British Empire fought against the Egyptian and Sudanese forces in a conflict that resulted in a long term British occupation of Egypt. This occupation altered the balance of power in the world, fostering the dominance of British interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Also in the late 19th century the German Empire started gaining potential. This led to a naval race between the Britain Empire and the German Empire. At this time Britain restored good relations with France and the United States and improved relations with the Russian Empire.

Also in the late 19th century Britain unified its North American colonies as the Dominion of Canada. From the mid 19th century and until the start of World War I the British Empire participated in the Western European colonial scramble for Africa. It fought wars against Mahdists, the Zulu Kingdom and Dutch colonists in South Africa.

During the Victorian era the British Empire was also involved in a large number of other lesser known armed conflicts, many of them related to colonial domination.

Modern times

In the first decade of the 20th century the British Empire was involved in a number of colonial conflicts, maintaining its dominant status. Between 1910 and 1914 the British Empire suffered a number of domestic issues, including potential refusal of orders by the Army in Ireland.

In 1914 Britain entered WWI to protect Belgium. Its army fought on the Western Front against the Imperial German Army. The Royal Navy led campaigns against German colonial possessions and blockaded Germany proper.

The losses from unsuccessful offensive campaigns and lack of volunteers caused Britain to institute conscription in 1916. Entry of the United States on the side of the Allies provided the necessary fighting force and resources to compensate for Allied war exhaustion. The war was won by the Allies in 1918 with over 1,100,000 fatal casualties in the British Imperial Forces and over 100,000 civilian fatalities. World War I forever disillusioned the British public to the glorified image of war and created a sentiment that wars should never be fought again.

Immediately after WWI Britain fought in Estonian and Latvian wars for independence, in the Russian Civil War intervention, in the Turkish War of Independence and a number of colonial conflicts.

In 1916 an unsuccessful uprising took place in Ireland. Between 1919 and 1921 the Irish Republican Army waged a guerilla war. In 1922 Ireland was partitioned with the north remaining in the United Kingdom and the south becoming the Irish Free State.

As a result of WWI Britain was granted mandates over Palestine and Iraq and gained two German African colonies. Iraq became independent in 1932. Egypt became independent in 1922 but remained occupied by British forces until 1936, with the Suez Canal zone being occupied until 1956. Not having sustained a direction in the development of the region (between the world wars) the British Empire fought in a number of colonial conflicts in the Middle East, including Arab revolts and Jewish insurgency.

In 1931 a large number of British colonies became legislatively autonomous with the creation of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1939 Britain declared war against Nazi Germany in response to the occupation of Poland. British forces were rapidly defeated in the Far East by Imperial Japan which showed the inability of the empire to defend all of its territories. This pushed Australia and New Zealand into closer security agreements with the United States in 1951. The war also weakened the empire in India. In general the British Empire was severely weakened as a result of the war. Close to 400,000 military personnel and 70,000 civilians were killed on the side of Britain. 150,000 military personnel and 300,000 civilians were killed on the side of the Commonwealth. India lost 87,000 military personnel and between 1,500,000 and 3,800,000 civilians (largely due to war-caused famine).

As a result of the weakening of the British Empire in WWII its colonies in Africa and Asia became increasingly nationalistic. The secondary role of the British Empire in the Cold War became apparent in the Suez Crisis of 1956. By 1965 the British colonies with the vast majority of the imperial population gained independence. The majority of British colonies achieved independence by 1984, with Australia and New Zealand severing their constitutional ties in 1986. Hong Kong was handed over to the PRC in 1997. Today Britain retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside of the British Isles.

The United Kingdom was a member of the European Union from 1973 to 2020. In 2121 the UK joined the AUKUS security partnership, after 80 years of joint intelligence cooperation and security cooperation in multiple wars.

Since World War II the United Kingdom has been involved in or led 36 international armed conflicts.

The UK performed 45 nuclear tests between 1957 and 1991.

The United States

First successful English settlement in North America was made in the beginning of the 17th century. The last of the Thirteen colonies was established in the beginning of the 18th century. Early immigration to the colonies was led by immigration of people seeking religious freedom and by transport of convicts.

The thirteen British colonies declared their independence in the late 18th century and successfully fought the related revolutionary war. The new Union rejected monarchy and set up a republic based on a balance of power between 3 branches of government.

From its colonial history and into the early 20th century the United States fought a number of wars for control of territory with the indigenous peoples, with catastrophic loss of life on the part of the natives. Until the mid 19th century the United States continued to expand its continental territory via a number of purchases, cessions and wars.

In the early 19th century developed the Monroe Doctrine of preventing European powers from further colonization of or interference in the Americas.

In the mid 19th century the United states went through a civil war between the industrialized North and the agrarian, separatist South, with the North winning. As a result of the war the Union was restored and slavery was abolished. An unknown number of civilians and close to 750,000 soldiers died in the Civil War.

Following the Civil War the United States experienced the Second Industrial Revolution that lasted until WWI. By the turn of the 20th century the United States was far ahead of Britain (the second biggest industrial sovereignty).

Between the mid 19th century and early 20th century the United States experienced large-scale in-migration. Present day illegal immigration combined with existing demographic trends will likely change US foreign policy by the 2050s towards more focus on the Americas with a particular focus on North America.

The United States entered World War I in 1917 and decisively changed the balance of forces in favor of the Allies by 1918. The United States suffered close to 117,000 war deaths in WWI.

After WWI the United States (along with the rest of the world) experienced economic depression and became isolationist in its foreign policy.

The United States entered World War II in 1941, initially in the Pacific region of the world. It entered the war in continental Europe in 1944. As a result of WWII the United States emerged as the leading military power in the world, competing for dominance with the Soviet Union until 1991. Subsequently it became the world hegemon until the present day conflicts. The United States suffered over 410,000 fatal casualties in WWII.

After WWII the United States underwent a Civil Rights Movement which ensured the rights of descendants of its former slave population.

Between 1945 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the United States led the Western Alliance in the Cold War and successfully won it. It occupied the main Axis powers of WWII and established a network of military bases throughout the planet. The United States began a rollback of its military presence in the world in the 2010s with the trend becoming fully apparent after the end of the US military mission in Afghanistan in 2021.

The Vietnam War of 1955 to 1975 disillusioned the United States public of the righteous image of freedom defending warfare. The United States suffered over 58,000 military fatal casualties in the Vietnam War.

Since WWII the United States has led or been involved in 33 military conflicts.

The United States performed 1,054 nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and 1992. Twice it used nuclear weapons in combat in 1945.

Australia

The first known European landing in Australia dates to the turn of the 17th century. It was claimed for Great Britain in the late 18th century with a subsequent establishment of a penal colony. In the following century a number of colonies were established by the British across the continent. By the mid 19th century the settler population numbered over a million and started to approach 4 million by the turn of the 20th century.

Warfare between Aboriginal groups and the colonists took place until the early 20th century. Throughout the colonization process a number of massacres against the native population took place. Much of the Aboriginal population died of exposure with the diseases brought by the British colonists and due to the loss of hunting grounds and starvation.

In 1901 the separate colonies united into a federation. In 1926 the Balfour Declaration issued at the Imperial Conference stated that British dominions were autonomous. In 1931 the the passing of the Statue of Westminster by the British Parliament prevented Britain from making laws for its dominions. It was ratified by Australia in 1942.

Australian forces aided the British Empire in WWI and WWII. Australia suffered over 60,000 killed in WWI and over 27,000 killed in WWII.

Since WWII Australia has been involved in 20 wars and armed conflicts.