The British Question (Jupiter's Dawn)

The British Question is a geopolitical problem in the world of Gundam SEED, in the Jupiter's Dawn timeline. It is relevant to the plot of the upcoming fanfic 'Gundam SEED: Jupiter's Dawn.

The Issue
The 'British Question' is a complex set of political, economic, and diplomatic issues surrounding the status of the British Isles, and their relations to neighbouring powers; notably the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and the Kingdom of Scandinavia. For most of the Cosmic Era thus far, the British Isles have been part of the Atlantic Federation. But both Eurasia and Scandinavia have also laid claim; the former primarily citing security concerns, the latter a hereditary claim by the Royal family of Scandinavia, via the former British Royal family.

Though a largely forgotten backwater by the first century of the Cosmic Era, Britain nevertheless found a certain relevance due to its position. Located on the edge of Europe, it was also in close proximity to Scandinavia and the island of Iceland; with the body of water encompassed between them being known as the North Sea. Thus simply by existing, Britain was of strategic relevance both to the Eurasian Federation - which included most of the former European Union - and the Kingdom of Scandinavia. The amount of international commerce passing through the region made it a tempting acqusition, while the presence of so many Atlantic Federation - later OMNI - miltiary bases made it a strategic complication.

Competing Claims
The current 'owner' of the British Isles is the Atlantic Federation; a state of affairs that has existed since the year C.E.03. The Atlantic Federation bases its claim in part on shared cultural heritage, but primarily on the simple fact that the British cantons have not voted to leave the Atlantic Federation; when under U.N. law they may do so by a simple vote of their legislatures, with the oversight of the General Assembly. That they have not done so, the Atlantic Federation reasons, is proof enough that the current situation is satisfactory to all concerned.

The Eurasian Federation bases its claim in part on geographical reality; that Britain's proximity to Europe makes it politically, strategically, and economically a part of Europe. It has also complained that the heavy Atlantic Federation military presence - albeit under OMNI auspices - is a strategic threat. Beyond that, its only claim is to accuse the Atlantic Federation of rigging the C.E.03 vote, and of using corrupt means to control the cantonal legislatures and preventing a fair vote from being held. Eurasia has yet to offer substantive evidence of these claims; and even if they did, they risk accusations of hypocrisy in light of their own record towards the increasingly restive European and Middle Eastern cantons.

Scandinavia's claim derives largely from hereditary right. Scandinavia's first King, Magnus I, was the son of Prince Johan - of the Norwegian House of Oldenburg - and Princess Alice - of the British House of Windsor; his lineage granting him claims on the thrones of Norway, Sweden, and Britain. While such a claim carries little legal weight in the Cosmic Era, it nevertheless provides a convenient ideological framework for Scandinavia's broader ambition; to incorporate both Britain and Iceland into itself, and thus recreate the ancient Viking empire of Canute the Great. Scandinavia has also presented its claim as a compromise solution; to reduce tensions between the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations by positioning itself between them.

Current Status
"''I know of only three people who have ever understood the British problem. One was Vice-Minister George Allster, and he is dead. The second was a professor from Orb, and he is in a mental hospital. I am the third, and I can't remember it." ''

Joseph Copeland, President of the Atlantic Federation