The Ford Administration and Anglo-American Relations: Re-Valuing an Interim Presidency

In the shadow of Watergate and the Vietnam War, Gerald Ford’s presidency has long been dismissed as little more than an interim administration. Yet the administration and its British counterparts worked to manage economic crises, Cold War tensions, and international flashpoints, while also harnessing cultural diplomacy to sustain transatlantic partnership. Drawing on newly declassified archival sources and fresh historical analysis, The Ford Administration and Anglo-American Relations shows how Ford’s years in office (1974–77) were pivotal in reshaping the US–UK special relationship at a moment of global turbulence.

Organized thematically rather than chronologically, the authors examine eight dimensions of Anglo-American relations under Ford: the inheritance of transatlantic tensions from the Nixon era; cultural and societal links beyond the state; the significance of Ford’s personal diplomacy; negotiations over defense and security; transformations in international economic relations and the birth of the G6/G7; cooperation through multilateral institutions such as NATO and the UN; joint management of crises in Cyprus and Rhodesia to the sterling currency crisis; and the cultural diplomacy of the 1976 Bicentennial, when Queen Elizabeth II’s state visit symbolized renewed unity between former adversaries. By highlighting both the challenges and the resilience of Anglo-American ties, this book recasts a neglected presidency as a crucial bridge between the crises of the Nixon years and the celebrated Reagan–Thatcher era. Accessible yet deeply researched, it is a work that will appeal to anyone interested in how two nations, facing uncertainty at home and abroad, turned to multilateral cooperation, culture, and public diplomacy to navigate the upheavals of the 1970s.

Steve Marsh is Reader in International Politics at Cardiff University.

Robert M. Hendershot is Professor of History at Grand Rapids Community College.

Tia Culley is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Bristol.