European Security And The Future Of Transatlantic Relations

Long the main pillar holding up the transatlantic relationship, the security of Europe seems to have turned into an accessory element in the transatlantic security agenda. In recent years, the United States and European countries have often been unable to find enduring convergence over how to deal with issues related to Europe's security, such as NATO's role, relations with Russia and other former Soviet republics, and the European Union's ambition to develop an autonomous military arm. Concerns, however, about trends inexorably leading to the drifting apart of the transatlantic partners seem exaggerated. In fact, under the Obama administration, the United States and its European partners have found some new common ground. An effort to transform occasional convergences into a shared vision of Europe's long-term security would contribute considerably to re-energizing the Euro-Atlantic bond. Though not on the same scale as in the past, Europe's security can still be a significant component of the transatlantic relationship.

Long the main pillar holding up the transatlantic relationship, the security of Europe seems to have turned into an accessory element in the transatlantic security agenda. In recent years, the United States and European countries have often been unable to find enduring convergence over how to deal with issues related to Europe's security, such as NATO's role, relations with Russia and other former Soviet republics, and the European Union's ambition to develop an autonomous military arm. Concerns, however, about trends inexorably leading to the drifting apart of the transatlantic partners seem exaggerated. In fact, under the Obama administration, the United States and its European partners have found some new common ground. An effort to transform occasional convergences into a shared vision of Europe's long-term security would contribute considerably to re-energizing the Euro-Atlantic bond. Though not on the same scale as in the past, Europe's security can still be a significant component of the transatlantic relationship. Proceedings of the third edition of the Transatlantic Security Symposium, jointly organized by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Bologna Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and held in Rome, 8 November 2010.

Since the end of the Cold War, and especially following the US decision to invade Iraq, the once strong partnership between the US, Canada, and the European allies has faced the serious possibility of significant change, or even dissolution. At the very least, fundamental differences have emerged in the ways that many of the partners, perceive the issues that are most important to them—from perceptions of the threat of terrorism and attitudes to the use of force, to expectation about the future nature of the NATO Alliance—and in the ways in which those perceptions have become translated into policy decisions. In this book, experts from both sides of the Atlantic seek to explain why there has been so much divergence in the approach the various countries have taken. And it seeks to raise questions about what those divergent paths might mean for the future of transatlantic relations.

Notable opportunities presently exist for the U.S.-European relationship to help mold the next century's international system. The prescriptions contained in this Independent Task Force Report, The Future of Transatlantic Relations, seek to intensify such a partnership. Some reinforce current administration policy, especially with respect to European security and political economy. Some policy suggestions go against administration policies, particularly outside Europe. The entire thrust of the report's ambitious prescriptions, however, requires more vigorous and active presidential and congressional leadership than has often been seen in recent years. The most important departure from present U.S. policy is the report's emphasis on drawing Europe over time much further into a global strategic partnership with the United States to help shape the new era. This Task Force, chaired by Robert D. Blackwill of the John F. Kennedy School of Government and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, included a highly diverse and experienced group of American and European policymakers, diplomats, analysts, and business and opinion leaders.

A March 8, 2006 conference, on "The Future of the Transatlantic Relations," addressed changes in US and European defense and foreign policy in the aftermath of the War in Iraq and in light of a new consensus for coordinating US and European military strategy, planning and operational activities. Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service, Bush Presidential Library Foundation, and European Union Center of Excellence, partnering with the Department of the Army's Eisenhower National Security Series and the Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute, convened a conference of distinguished international experts from academic, military, governmental, and non-governmental organizations to examine key dimensions of this dynamic relationship, which has major implications for global as well as regional security.

The post-September 11th security policies of Poland, the UK, France, the US and Germany presented in this new book illustrate how and why the Atlantic community ruptured over Iraq, a result in part, it is argued, of the existence of particular national strategic cultures. Whilst the longer term effects of Iraq for the transatlantic security agenda have yet to fully transpire, what is certain is that the EU's ambitions to become a credible security actor have been seriously questioned, as has the notion of multilateralism as an international norm, as has the function of international law. The book addresses these issues by considering the evolution of the EU's role in the world and the development of American perspectives on the transatlantic security agenda. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal European Security.

In this much-needed study of current strategic thinking on both sides of the Atlantic, a diverse collection of leading European and American analysts are assembled to tackle key questions that remain unanswered in the existing literature: how much do new security strategies signal convergence or divergence in US and EU foreign and security policy doctrine? what tangible political and policy impacts can be attributed to new security strategies? what are the implications for US and EU policies towards specific regions? what are the prospects for collective transatlantic action? The legacy of 9/11 is scrutinized against the backdrop of the strategic thinking that preceded it. In the 1990s, the US struggled to develop a new doctrine for American foreign policy, seeking at various times to promote a ‘New World Order’ or ‘democratic enlargement’. For its part, the EU had tried to underpin its new Common Foreign and Security Policy with a coherent set of ‘European values’ – multilateralism, human rights, environmental protection, and poverty reduction – that were best defended via collective European action. Key continuities and changes in these transatlantic efforts since 9/11 are clearly identified and closely examined.