The Centre for Statecraft & National Security is excited to host Dr William D. James for a talk on his new book, Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises

With President Trump’s designs on Greenland and disputes over the Iran War, many argue that the UK-US alliance – often dubbed “the special relationship” – is close to breaking point. Yet this is hardly the first time the partnership has been given its last rites. After the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, many observers declared it dead – only for the AUKUS defence pact to be signed weeks later. Indeed, one of its defining characteristics is its resilience in the face of political volatility and geopolitical shifts.

Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations explains how the world’s most consequential bilateral alliance endures despite countless crises. The book’s contributors trace the roots of the US-UK alliance; analyse the institutionalised pillars of nuclear, military, and intelligence cooperation; and highlight underappreciated aspects of economic and defence-industrial interdependence. Drawing on archival research and interviews, the volume revisits lesser-known strategic flashpoints and reveals how crises from Suez to Afghanistan tested the alliance without breaking its foundations.

As the alliance weathers fresh storms, James and Kennedy provide an essential guide for understanding the character, legacy, and trajectory of the UK-US relationship.

About the Speaker:

Dr William D. James is an Assistant Professor in Strategic Studies at RSIS, NTU Singapore. His research interests include alliance politics, British defence policy, grand strategy, the history of strategic thought, transatlantic relations, and European security. William earned a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford. Between his doctoral studies and joining NTU, he held full-time research fellowships at MIT’s Security Studies Program, Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre, and the Centre for Grand Strategy at King’s College London. He is currently the Sir Eyre Crowe Adjunct Fellow in Grand Strategy at the London-based Council on Geostrategy, and a Visiting Fellow at the Italian Navy’s Centre for Military Maritime Studies in Venice.

William is the author of British Grand Strategy in the Age of American Hegemony (Oxford University Press, 2024) and the co-editor of Transatlantic Storms in Anglo-American Relations: How the Alliance Weathers Crises (Georgetown University Press, 2026). His work has also been published in academic journals such as International Affairs, the European Journal of International Security, and the Journal of Strategic Studies, as well as outlets such as War on the Rocks and Engelsberg Ideas.

To register to attend, please click here.