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Map of Europe |
November 2003
The State of Transatlantic Relations after the Second Gulf War by Sean S. Costigan (PDF, 4 pages, 110 kbs)
The transatlantic relationship is in flux. While some analysts argue that the transatlantic alliance has pulled through more difficult circumstances before, others state that the alliance has collapsed. None, however, would disagree that the long-standing partnership is in disarray. The diplomatic—and at turns wholly undiplomatic—struggle over Iraq may be just the most recent flare-up in a series of major disagreements between the United States and the governments of the European Union. It may be more. If something fundamental to the constancy of the alliance has changed, what is it?
Transatlantic Relations after the War in Iraq by Thérèse Delpech (PDF, 4 pages, 89 kbs)
After the war in Iraq, there is a troubling difference between the internal and the external assessment of the transatlantic relations. To most Americans and Europeans, the transatlantic bond has been badly damaged. Cooperation in some shape or form still appears possible on a number of issues, but months after the end of hostilities, the stubborn willingness of the different actors to find their position on the war vindicated by events, continues to spoil the atmosphere. Worse, dangerous questions for the Alliance have now surfaced concerning the indivisibility of European and American security.
Labors of the New American Hercules: Transatlantic Relations in the Wake of the War with Iraq by Hall Gardner (PDF, 8 pages, 130 kbs)
Time will tell whether preclusive military intervention in Iraq has truly helped to stimulate efforts to “resolve,” or even significantly change for the better, the complex crises emanating from the Persian Gulf, Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and the Korean peninsula, let alone help to institute a semblance of “communal” democracy in Iraq that can help unify its divergent ethnic and religious factions. From today’s standpoint, however, US relations with both major and regional powers appear much more fractious.
CFSP Reform and Transatlantic Relations by Ettore Greco (PDF, 5 pages, 103 kbs)
The Iraqi crisis exposed once again the structural deficiencies of the European Union’s foreign policy. In the 1990s the Union’s member states had already proven unable to cope effectively with major international crises. But their inability to take common positions and actions during the Iraq crisis was also compounded by unprecedented tensions between a few of them, notably France and Germany, and the United States, something which cast a dark shadow over the future of the transatlantic security partnership.
Transforming the Alliance: The Bush Administration's Vision of NATO by Edward Rhodes (PDF, 14 pages, 190 kbs)
For political scientists and for policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic, the end of the Cold War raised profound questions about the future of the North Atlantic alliance—whether it would continue to exist, whether it would continue to play a significant role, and, if it survived and continued to play a significant role, what that role would be and what capabilities would be needed to perform it. Since June 2001, the administration of President George W. Bush has weighed in on these questions. What has emerged has been an extraordinarily coherent if not entirely unproblematic set of propositions about the nature of NATO, about the role it needs to play in the world, and about how the alliance and its capabilities will have to evolve.
Knowledge Based, Network Centric Approach in Strengthening Transatlantic Link with the New NATO Members in SEE by Dr. Velizar Shalamanov (PDF, 9 pages, 133 kbs)
The current diversity of new risks and threats, as well as new opportunities and responsibilities for projection and protection of our common values and interests, are considered by some to be risks in and of themselves for the further development of Euro-Atlantic solidarity and cooperation. There is a real challenge to build common assessments and strengthen perceptions about the security agenda, to define a common set of instruments, especially when it comes to military operations, needed expeditionary forces, their basing, modernization, training and most of all modalities of use, combined command and control, and support "out of area" as well as long term sustainability.
Mind the Three Transatlantic Power Gaps by Stanley R. Sloan and Heiko Borchert (PDF, 11 pages, 183 kbs)
The end of the brief "hot" war in Iraq and the accompanying transatlantic diplomatic conflict set the stage for a new and challenging period of US-European relations. The United States, its European allies and the international community more generally face complex and multifaceted rebuilding challenges: Iraq needs to be rebuilt after the war which removed Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime from power; the transatlantic rift must be repaired; the United Nations needs to be rebuilt, and with it the core of international law regulating the use of force. Finally, the bond of trust between Washington and the rest of the world needs to be rebuilt with a special focus on the kind of role that the United States is going to play in the international system.
Between 'Venus' and 'Mars': Canada and the TransAtlantic 'Gap' by Joel J. Sokolsky (PDF, 11 pages, 103 kbs)
In his now celebrated book, Of Paradise and Power, Robert Kagan looks at the "gap" between the United States and Europe and declares that "Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus." The refusal of several major allies to support the United States in the Second Gulf War only has reinforced this view. Canada too, pointedly opposed the war. But for most commentators on either side of the Atlantic, Canada is not even in the universe, much less in the solar system. One American commentator observed that "For everyday, non-political Americans, Europe is simply not a preoccupation one way or the other. It is Canada with castles...a nice place, but hardly the furnace where our future will be forged.
Tales of the Transatlantic by Anders Stephanson (PDF, 4 pages, 63 kbs)
Countless conferences and op-ed pieces have been devoted over the years to the 'Atlantic relationship' and its ups and downs, providing ample room for pundits and policy experts to declare what was to be done to secure this supposedly crucial aspect of international politics. It has been a very dependable worry.