The Cablegate Shock - Does WikiLeaks upset the 'Special Relationship' Narrative of Transatlantic Relations?

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Leipzig (Institut für Anglistik / Institute of British Studies), course: The Anglo-American World in a Global Context; A Special Relationship?, language: English, abstract: When dealing with international relations between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Special Relationship frequently comes in handy as a paradigm, within which observable phenomena click into place. But what is the Special Relationship? Can we even say, it exists? This will be one question to deal with in this work. The other major question is: How does the Special Relationship behave in the media - how is it treated and by whom? And finally: Can the way the media deal with the Special Relationship be changed by a simple idea, that changes the preconditions for access to knowledge and the way journalists use their sources for their work? First, I will give a brief summary of what WikiLeaks is, how it came into being, and what the core ideas and values are, that it stands for. Within the scope of that, I want to give a quick glance towards the Propaganda Model, which extensively analyzes the way the modern (western) corporate media system works. Second, I want to discuss different approaches towards the Special Relationship and find out, in which context it may be sensible to use the term and what it actually is, that it denotes in these contexts. I will restrict the scope of this chapter to things perceivable in the media. Third, I want to demonstrate what the previous considerations of this paper can be used for when dealing with primary sources of two kinds: On the one hand, an actual diplomatic cable about the S.R., which was made public by WikiLeaks, and on the other hand, a selection of (print / online) media items that deal with the S.R., WikiLeaks and that aforementioned cable, respectively. Finally, I will draw a number of conclusions to evaluate, the intricacies of the sources used and of the methods I made them undergo. If space provides that opportunity, I will dare a prognosis for what will happen to the S.R., considering the findings of this work. The time period in concern will be the latest period of American politics, as the inauguration of US President Obama seemed to mark a watershed for the S.R., as the primary texts will show. The practice of abbreviating 'Special Relationship' by 'S.R.' is chiefly due to practical reasons and not intended to represent a comment on the term's validity. Nevertheless, I find the term as such valid enough to capitalize its initials - also in order to denote the relationship between UK and USA and delimit it from just any special relationship that is not implied in the aforementioned meaning.