In Graham Allison’s analysis, the peaceful transition in global leadership after World War I between the UK and the US was made possible not just because of Britain’s postwar economic exhaustion. More importantly, it was because London concluded that, while it might have been undesirable to give up its global leadership role, it was not a catastrophe. America, in Britain’s view, was a familiar power, steeped in similar (though not identical) values, with an understandable worldview and national ambitions. America could, thus, be trusted to accommodate British interests and concerns, even if it
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