America S Perceptions Of Europe

This book seeks to rectify Americans' views of its closest ally, Europe - an ambitious task, but one sorely lacking in the literature. Many prejudices about Europe surface in headlines, while others remain latent, but they are real, pervasive and ingrained.

The perception of Europeans of the world and of the peoples beyond Europe has become in recent years the subject of intense scholarly interest and heated debate both in and outside the academy. So, too, has the concern with how it was that those peoples who were variously ’discovered’, and then, as often as not, colonised, understood the strangers in their midst. This volume attempts to cover both these topics, as well as to provide a number of crucial articles on the difficulties faced by modern historians in understanding the complex, relationship between ’them’ and ’us’. Inevitably such relationships not only changed over time, they also varied greatly from culture to culture. The articles, therefore cover most of the areas with which the European world came into contact from the earliest Portuguese incursions into Africa in the mid fifteenth century until the explorations of Cook and Bougainville in the Pacific in the late eighteenth. It ranges, too, from Brazil to Russia, from Tahiti to China.

For review see: Stephen J. Homick, in The Hispanic Historical Review (HAHR), vol. 77, no. 1 (February 1997); p. 78-80.

This two-volume set presents 25 articles (published between 1964 and 1996) as part of a series that seeks to transcend nationalist histories and to examine the global stage rather than discrete regions important to selected facets of the European presence overseas. The introductions to each volume clarify the conceptual framework and rationale for the selection of articles and assess the importance of the specific aspect being discussed in the larger context of European activities (thus acquainting readers with broad trends in the historiography and alerting them to controversies and conflicting interpretations). In addition, they describe and evaluate the importance of change over time; explain differences attributable to differing geographical, cultural institutional, and economic circumstances; and suggest the potential for cross cultural, comparative, and interdisciplinary approaches. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

In this book, experts from both sides of the Atlantic, examine the recent tensions between Western Europe and the United States over such issues as transatlantic security, policies towards terrorism and relations with Russia and the former Soviet Union, against the broader background of perceptions and misperceptions in transatlantic relations. Drawing on Professor Robert Jervis’ work, Perceptions and Misperceptions in International Politics, this book examines whether Jervis’ thesis has a new relevance given the current challenges in transatlantic relations. Some of the issues examined include: perceptions and misperceptions in general focusing on US foreign policy, issues of decision-making and implementation and issues of alliance management the capacity of the United States and the European Union to cooperate effectively within the broader transatlantic framework studies focusing on the ‘alliance security dilemma’ and the transatlantic security community case studies of transatlantic relations in the ‘war on terror’ and relations with Russia the present and future of the ‘western alliance’. Providing a global and multilateral analysis from American and European perspectives and exploring fields of cooperation and competition, Perceptions and Policy in Transatlantic Relations will be of strong interest to students of International Relations, American politics and European politics.

This book examines how the European Union (EU) is perceived beyond its borders in the US; the Middle East: Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Iran; Russia; China; India; Brazil and South Africa. The book also analyses the main perceptions of the EU in some key international institutions, including the World Bank; World Trade Organization, United Nations, African Union; and transnational actors, including non-Western media such as Al Jazeera. It seeks to provide a thorough analysis of the implications that these perceptions might have for the global role of the EU. By taking this approach and by providing both conceptual and empirical arguments, the volume provides an innovative perspective on the analysis of the EU as a global actor. It also strengthens a research agenda on the EU external image: an underdeveloped area of investigation in which the editors and the main contributors to this volume have played a pioneering role in the past few years. It will be of strong interest to academics and students of international politics, European studies and development studies.

The Americanization of Europe and the strategic initiatives of American firms abroad have been well studied. The expansion of American firms in Europe, however, lacked a comprehensive study. This book gathers the works of two dozen economic and business historians from across Europe, preceded by Mira Wilkins' comparative essay. The collection addresses the timetable and pace of American direct investment in Europe, the patterns followed in each country according to the specificities of each industry and service sector, and the strategies followed by the different firms. The studies go beyond the facts, scrutinizing the immaterial aspects of this business history, especially European perceptions of American firms and the essential stakes of corporate images and identities. The Europeanization of American firms is a key issue, including social relations, management, commercial policies, brand image, connections and embeddedness. The authors gauge the reaction of public authorities and lobbies (industrialists and trade unions). Graphs and tables provide data, while overviews of ads published by American affiliates fuel analyses of consumer perception.