Transatlantic Relations Since 1945

Transatlantic Relations Since 1945 offers a comprehensive account of transatlantic relations in the second half of the 20th century (extending to the present-day). The transatlantic relationship has been the bedrock of international relations since the end of World War II. This new textbook will focus on the period since the defeat of Nazi Germany, when the multitude of links between United States and Western Europe were created, extended, and multiplied. Written in an accessible style, it emphasizes transatlantic interactions, and avoids the temptation to focus on either U.S. ‘domination’ or European attempts to ‘resist’ an American effort to subjugate the old continent. That influence has travelled across the Atlantic in both directions is one of the starting points of this text. Structured chronologically, the book will be built around three key themes: Security: From the Cold War to the War on Terror Economics: Integration and Competition ‘Soft power’ and Transatlantic Relations. This book will be of great interest to students of transatlantic relations, NATO, US Foreign Policy, Cold War History, European History and IR/International history.

Based on new and existing research by a world-class scholar, this is the first book in twenty years to examine the dynamics of the entire American-West European relationship since 1945. The relationship between the United States and Western Europe has always been crucial and recent events dictate that it is becoming ever more so. In this important new work, Geir Lundestad analyses the balance between the cooperation and conflict which has characterized this relationship in the post-war period. He examines talk of transatlantic drift, and the strain now apparent between the USA and the nation states of Western Europe. In the concluding section, Lundestad offers a topical view of the future of transatlantic interaction. Throughout the work Lundestad's much cited 'empire by invitation' thesis is both put into practice and extended in time and scope. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in one of the most important and enduring international relationships of the last sixty years.

Transatlantic relations underwent significant change throughout the 1960s and 1970s as post-1945 cooperation was gradually replaced by rivalry in the economic, defence and intelligence arenas. An increasingly vulnerable United States economy, together with a focus on détente, led the Nixon Administration to adopt policies which directly challenged European economic and security concerns. However, this was also the time when inter-allied relations experienced significant rejuvenation. The rise of conservativism in the United States, no less than the debacle in Vietnam, augured new foreign policy priorities for American leaders. Coinciding with the renewed focus on economic liberalism on both sides of the Atlantic, the influence of conservatives in redefining international relations became increasingly obvious. 02 Drawing on recently declassified documents, Reform and Renewal offers a detailed analysis of the major events and themes in the transatlantic relationship. Focusing on the post-1960 era—a distinct phase in the transatlantic relationship—it provides an examination of the interplay between domestic political factors and the broader structural factors shaping relations between the United States and the countries of Western Europe. Providing a comparative perspective on key initiatives such as the Year of Europe, this edited collection will greatly enhance the existing literature in the field.

"The US-European relationship remains the closest and most important alliance in the world. Since 1945, successive American presidents each put their own touches on transatlantic relations, but the literature has reached only into the presidency of Lyndon Johnson (1963-9). This first study of transatlantic relations during the era of Richard Nixon shows a complex, turbulent period during which the postwar period came to an end, and the modern era came to be on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of political, economic, and military relations"--Provided by publisher.

“America First” is “America Alone” Foreign policy is like physics: vacuums quickly fill. As the United States retreats from the international order it helped put in place and maintain since the end of World War II, Russia is rapidly filling the vacuum. Federiga Bindi’s new book assesses the consequences of this retreat for transatlantic relations and Europe, showing how the current path of US foreign policy is leading to isolation and a sharp decrease of US influence in international relations. Transatlantic relations reached a peak under President Barack Obama. But under the Trump administration, withdrawal from the global stage has caused irreparable damage to the transatlantic partnership and has propelled Europeans to act more independently. Europe and America explores this tumultuous path by examining the foreign policy of the United States, Russia, and the major European Union member states. The book highlights the consequences of US retreat for transatlantic relations and Europe, demonstrating that “America first” is becoming “America alone,” perhaps marking the end of transatlantic relations as we know it, with Europe no longer beholden to the US national interest.

This book examines the evolution of European-American relations with the Middle East since 1945. Placing the current transatlantic debates on the Middle East into a broader context, this work analyses how, why, and to what extent European and US roles, interests, threat perceptions, and policy attitudes in the region have changed, relating to both the region as a whole and the two main issues analysed: Gulf Security and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The contributors then go on to discuss the implications of these developments for Western policymaking. The volume makes four key contributions. First, it examines the subject matter from a truly transatlantic perspective, with all chapters adopting a bi- or multilateral approach, taking into account the views from both the US and individual European countries or the EC/EU collectively. Second, the book takes a long-term view, covering a series of crises and developments over the past six decades. Third, it has a systematic structure, with the predominantly chronological order of the chapters being geared towards depicting trends and evolutions with regard to the key themes of the book. Finally, the book builds bridges between historians and political scientists/analysts, as well as between experts of transatlantic relations and Middle East scholars. This book will be of great interest to students of transatlantic relations, the Middle East, US foreign policy, European politics, international history and IR in general. Daniel Möckli is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich. He is also the editor of CSS Analyses in Security Policy. Victor Mauer is Deputy Director and Head of Research of the Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, and Lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at ETH Zurich.

The past several years have seen strong disagreements between the U.S. government and many of its European allies, largely due to the deployment of NATO forces in Afghanistan and the commitment of national forces to the occupation of Iraq. News accounts of these challenges focus on isolated incidents and points of contention. The End of the West? addresses some basic questions: Are we witnessing a deepening transatlantic rift, with wide-ranging consequences for the future of world order? Or are today's foreign-policy disagreements the equivalent of dinner-table squabbles? What harm, if any, have recent events done to the enduring relationships between the U.S. government and its European counterparts? The contributors to this volume, whose backgrounds range from political science and history to economics, law, and sociology, examine the "deep structure" of an order that was first imposed by the Allies in 1945 and has been a central feature of world politics ever since. Creatively and insightfully blending theory and evidence, the chapters in The End of the West? examine core structural features of the transatlantic world to determine whether current disagreements are minor and transient or catastrophic and permanent.

This book provides a comprehensive review of the transatlantic relationship between the United States and Europe, from the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall to the Trump administration. It highlights the primary factors that test the U.S-Europe relationship. America and Europe Adrift highlights the background of the German unification and the reaffirmation of NATO as the framework of U.S. presence in Europe after the end of the Cold War; the NATO enlargement; the Transatlantic Rift in the context of the Iraq War; the economic aspects of transatlantic relations, specifically the rise of Germany's weight in international affairs as a result of the European Monetary Union; and the gradual retrenchment of U.S. power. It focuses on the enduring factors that threaten the transatlantic relationship during the 21st century while also suggesting how that relationship will likely survive: through the United States' continued provision of indispensable security to the rest of the Western world. This book is an essential resource for students of transatlantic relations; graduates in international politics and international history, security studies, and strategic studies; and foreign policy practitioners.