Understanding Transatlantic Relations

In light of the Arab Spring and after days of public quarreling that highlighted the divisions among NATO’s members on an agreement to give command of the "no-fly" zone in Libya to the Alliance, it is evident that the U.S. is having problems engaging with its European allies and partners. Why is this happening? Breaking away from the conventional way to study transatlantic relations, Serena Simoni uses a Constructivist theoretical lens to argue that the transatlantic partners’ changing identities since the early 1990s have influenced their political interests and, as a consequence, their national security policies. Contemporary divergences are a notable byproduct of these transformations. By focusing on cases of disagreement (i.e., NATO’s enlargement, the International Criminal Court, and Debt Relief for Africa), this book shows how since the 1990s, the US has started to see itself as the actor carrying the international defense burden, while the European Union has developed an image of itself as the actor in charge of humanitarian efforts, which generally entails diplomacy rather than military efforts. Contemporary cases of disagreement as the Arab Spring, Libya, and Foreign Assistance in Africa illustrate how redefined national identities continue to alter the course of transatlantic relations. Understanding Transatlantic Relations provides a more accurate examination of the future of transatlantic relations and offers an understanding of those issues that the United States and Europe would consider important enough to justify their cooperation.

This book explains how and why the transatlantic relationship has remained resilient despite persistent differences in the preferences, approaches, and policies of key member states. It covers topics ranging from the history of transatlantic relations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and security issues, trade, human rights, and the cultural sinews of the relationship, to the impacts of COVID-19, climate change, think tanks, the rise of populism, public opinion, and the triangular relationship between the United States (US), Europe, and China. The book also conceptualizes resilience as a quality arising from myriad forms of interdependence. This interdependence helps shed light on the Atlantic partnership’s capacity to withstand serious disagreements, such as those that occurred during the Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump presidencies. With a principal focus on the US and Europe, the contributors to the volume also employ Canadian case studies to provide a unique and useful corrective. This book will interest all intermediate and senior undergraduate as well as graduate courses on relations between the US and Europe, American foreign policy, and European Union foreign policy. A specialist readership that includes academic and think tank researchers, policy practitioners, and opinion leaders will also benefit from this timely volume.

This book assesses the state of transatlantic relations in an era of emerging powers and growing interconnectedness, and discusses the limits and potential of transatlantic leadership in creating effective governance structures. The authors first resort to theory and history to understand the transatlantic relationship. They then consider the domestic and systemic factors that might set the relationship between the United States and Europe on a different path. Finally, the authors locate the potential for transatlantic leadership in the context of the global power shift. The world of the 21st century displays different power configurations in different policy domains. This changing structure of power complicates the exercise of leadership. Leadership requires not only greater power and authority, but also persuasion, bargaining and moral suasion, all necessary strategies to build coalitions and manage conflicts between great powers.

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 explores the transatlantic relationship between the US and Europe from multiple perspectives and disciplines. Since the end of the Cold War, a multi-polar world has replaced the dual power economic and political stranglehold previously shared by the US and Russia. Amid the shift in power politics, the transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe has retained its importance in shaping the outcome of future global developments. With the rise of the US as a major world power and the tremendous economic growths witnessed by countries such as China, India and Brazil, the political power structures within and outside the transatlantic relations have gradually undergone shifts that are important to recognise, understand and critically assess on a consistent basis. Transatlantic Relations and Modern Diplomacy assesses the strengths and weaknesses of this enduring transatlantic relationship from multiple perspectives and disciplines at a time when the US and European countries are facing increasing economic pressures, significant political changes and substantial security concerns. Examining this relationship through a range of different lenses including historical, economic and cultural, this book highlights the importance of examining the transatlantic relationship from a variety of different contextual and historical perspectives in order to herald the future changes as informed global citizens. This book will be of interest to students of transatlantic studies, diplomacy, political science and IR in general.

“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.

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.

This book offers an overview of the interface between European integration, transatlantic relations, and the 'rise of the rest' in the early 21st century. The collapse of the Soviet bloc opened up an era in which the drivers and perceived benefits of the US alliance among European countries have become more variegated and shifting. The proposition that the US remains at once an 'indispensable' and 'intolerable' nation in Europe is a key concept in the alliance, as the US remains inextricably tied to the continent through economic, military and cultural links. This work examines this complex subject area from many angles, including an analysis of the historical and cultural contexts of America’s relations with Europe, as well as a discussion of the politics of transatlantic affairs which utilises evidence gleaned from a series of case-studies. In the concluding chapters, the author assesses the likelihood that the West can entrench its global dominance in the realms of "soft" and "hard" power, and by effecting a "controlled reform" that will see multilateral structures open up to emerging powers. This book will be of great interest to students of European Politics, EU integration, transatlantic relations, US foreign policy/diplomacy, International Security and IR in general.