The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.

The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.

Helmut Schmidt
22/09/2025
22/09/2025

The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.

(5 evaluate)
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.
The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.

The German statesman Helmut Schmidt once declared with wry clarity: “The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S., but if you mention this in Washington, no one knows what you are talking about.” In these words he unmasks the illusions of diplomacy, showing how nations may weave myths of relationship to flatter themselves, while the supposed partner remains unaware or indifferent. What one proclaims as sacred alliance, the other may see as ordinary necessity.

For the British have long spoken of their special relationship with America, born of shared wars, common tongue, and kindred traditions. To them, it is a bond unique, noble, and enduring. Yet Schmidt reminds us that such visions are not always mirrored. In the halls of Washington, the phrase holds no hallowed meaning, for America, vast and powerful, views alliances not through sentiment but through shifting interests. Thus, the relationship is special only in the eyes of one.

This saying reveals the danger of self-deception in politics. To believe one holds a privileged bond when the other does not confess the same is to build strategy upon sand. Nations, like men, must discern between affection and convenience, between true loyalty and fleeting alliance. When pride blinds the eye, disappointment will surely follow, for the heart has invested where the mind should have judged.

Schmidt’s words also carry a deeper wisdom: that all relationships, whether between nations or between souls, must be mutual to be real. A bond proclaimed on one side alone is but shadow, not substance. The truth of loyalty is proven not in words spoken in London or Berlin, but in deeds chosen in Washington, Moscow, or any seat of power.

So let this teaching endure: beware of flattering myths, whether in diplomacy or in love. A special relationship cannot be willed by one—it must be recognized by both. Build not upon illusion, but upon truth, for only then will the alliance endure. And remember always that the wise measure the strength of bonds not by sentiment, but by the steadfastness of deeds.

Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt

German - Statesman December 23, 1918 - November 10, 2015

With the author

Democracy is not the end point of mankind. There may be developments in many different directions in the coming centuries. Democracy has only existed for about 200 years. It started out with the American Declaration of Independence. The Americans got their ideas from the Europeans, in the main from the French, the Dutch and the British.

Helmut Schmidt

The concept of multiculturalism is difficult to make fit with a democratic society.

Helmut Schmidt

Same category

See, if there is zero possessiveness in a relationship, then one needs to put a reality check to see if things are really going fine. So, normally, everyone is a bit possessive, and so am I.

Kunal Khemu

I've always believed in people's capacity for goodness. I still believe that people are good. What I'm not so trusting about anymore is their relationship to their own goodness.

Anne Hathaway

Love is the missing factor; there is a lack of affection, of warmth in relationship; and because we lack that love, that tenderness, that generosity, that mercy in relationship, we escape into mass action, which produces further confusion, further misery.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Have gratitude for the things you're discarding. By giving gratitude, you're giving closure to the relationship with that object, and by doing so, it becomes a lot easier to let go.

Marie Kondo

It's more necessary than ever before to ensure that discernment and the development of a critical mind guide our take on the world and inform our relationship to the media and information.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem

Pop stardom is not very compelling. I'm much more interested in a relationship between performer and audience that is of equals. I came up through folk music, and there's no pomp and circumstance to the performance. There's no, like, 'I'll be the rock star, you be the adulating fan.'

Ani DiFranco

When you have a fruitful relationship with someone, and you've both chosen to work together, then it can spawn really good things.

Tobias Forge

Let me say again that the relationship is asymmetrical: there's no democracy without a market economy, but you can have a market economy without democracy.

Peter L. Berger
Tocpics Related

Marcel Proust Quotes

Percy Bysshe Shelley Quotes

Men Quotes

Henri Frederic Amiel Quotes

Gloria Estefan Quotes

Marcus Samuelsson Quotes

Lori Loughlin Quotes

Prince Royce Quotes

Notable authors

S. Jay Olshansky

Debbie Ford

Marco Brambilla

Irving Babbitt

Alicia Keys

Sidharth Malhotra

Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Dick Morris

Have 5 Comment The British claim to have a special relationship with the U.S.

UGUser Google

Schmidt’s perspective is quite revealing. It seems to imply that the UK’s special relationship with the U.S. might be more of a myth or a diplomatic convenience. What do you think—does the U.K. truly have a special relationship with the U.S., or has that bond been overstated for political or historical reasons?

Reply.
Information sender

BNBao Ngoc

It’s interesting how Schmidt challenges the idea of the 'special relationship' between the UK and the U.S. with this quote. Could it be that the idea of a 'special relationship' is more of a historical concept that no longer carries weight in today’s political landscape? How does the reality of such relationships compare to the narratives countries promote?

Reply.
Information sender

NADo Nguyen Anh

Helmut Schmidt's comment about the special relationship between the UK and the U.S. sheds light on how international relations can sometimes be more about perception than substance. Do you think it's important for international relationships to be publicly recognized, or is it enough that they function behind the scenes?

Reply.
Information sender

CNChau Ngoc

Schmidt’s quote makes me think about how national narratives don’t always align with the reality on the ground. If the British claim a special relationship, but the U.S. doesn’t recognize it, does that undermine the idea, or is it simply a case of differing priorities? How important is it for countries to openly acknowledge their alliances for them to be meaningful?

Reply.
Information sender

NDNGUYEN NGOC DIEP

Helmut Schmidt's comment about the British 'special relationship' with the U.S. is quite intriguing. It highlights how political narratives can sometimes differ from reality. Do you think that the concept of a 'special relationship' is more of a British perception than a true diplomatic reality? Or is there an unspoken bond that simply isn’t acknowledged in Washington?

Reply.
Information sender
Leave the question
Click here to rate
Information sender