Posted June 21, 2010
Transatlantic Relations | German-American Relations | Europe - European Union | NATO
The Brussels Wall
Drozdiak, William
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2010, v89, #3, pp7-12
"These days, there is a great deal of talk about the dawn of an Asian century--hastened by the rise of China and India. Meanwhile, the fractious Atlantic alliance, enfeebled by two wars and an economic crisis, is said to be fading away. But the West is not doomed to decline as a center of power and influence. A relatively simple strategic fix could reinvigorate the historic bonds between Europe and North America and reestablish the West's dominance: it is time to bring together the West's principal institutions, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."
William Drozdiak is President of the American Council on Germany, Senior Adviser
for Europe at the international strategic consultancy McLarty Associates, and
Founding Director of the German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Center, in
Brussels. Fulltext F1/02-10
Sharing Global Responsibilities: While the Euro-Atlantic Partnership has Shifted, it is by no Means Obsolete
Janes, Jackson
Internationale Politik (IP), May/June 2010, online edition, 5p
"The transatlantic alliance is no longer the exclusive, privileged club that it
once was. In confronting global challenges, other nations and power centers,
above all in Asia, contribute to global policies. President Obama personifies
this geopolitical reorientation. Europe is still part of the equation—but only
one part of it."
Jackson Janes is the director of the American Institute of German Contemporary Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Fulltext F2/02-10
Is Europe Willing to be a Defense Partner for the U.S.?
Schake, Kori
AICGS Advisor, American Institute for German Contemporary Studies (AIGCS), May 13, 2010, online edition
"The author gives a final look at Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' speech at the National Defense University and argues that Secretary Gates was expressing a widespread American concern that Europe is no longer willing to be a real partner for the United States. Schake states that this concern can lead to questioning why the U.S. spends so much time and effort on the transatlantic relationship when Europe has become an "unwinnable constituency."
Kori Schake is a
research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and an associate professor of international security studies at the United States Military Academy. Fulltext F3/02-10
Fixing Leaks
Janes, Jackson
AICGS Advisor, American Institute for German Contemporary Studies (AIGCS), May 27, 2010, online edition
"Plugging leaks of various sorts is preoccupying leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. President Obama is frantically focused on getting the uncapped well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico fixed before more of his own political capital begins to leak out of the White House. European leaders are equally frantic about plugging the financial leaks in the as the yet-uncapped economies of Greece and maybe others which are looking as dark as the murky waters off the Gulf Coast."
Jackson Janes is the Executive Director of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. Fulltext F4/02-10
Transatlantic Fates Are Intertwined
Mulvaney, Sean
AICGS Advisor, American Institute for German Contemporary Studies (AIGCS), May 27, 2010, online edition
"No region of the world has a greater stake in Europe's resurrection from this
sovereign debt crisis than the United States. Not Asia. Not Africa. Not South
America. Almost $3 billion in trade and investment flows pass over the Atlantic
each day. A fifth of America's trade (exports and imports) is with the European
Union. Significant amounts of this trade represent transactions among U.S. and
European companies in support of the transatlantic marketplace and U.S. and
European global competitiveness."
Sean Mulvaney is director of the Economic Policy Program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Fulltext F5/02-10
Two Different Sides of an Equation: What Germany and the
United States Should Learn From Each Other
Janes, Jackson; Stuchtey, Tim
AICGS Advisor, American Institute for German Contemporary Studies (AIGCS), March 18, 2010, online edition
"At the moment, one can follow an interesting debate in the United States concerning how America's dependence on foreign capital inflows can be eliminated without simultaneously provoking a further drop in economic output. In the course of this discussion, Germany has been both criticized and envied for its export-driven growth model, at times described as a prime example by other countries. In terms of economic policy, it looks like Germany should become more American, but maybe the United States should also become a bit more German."
Jackson Janes is Executive Director of AICGS and Tim Stuchtey is Director of the Institute's Business & Economics Program. Fulltext F6/02-10
What Happened to "Europe"?
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, 24p
"Geopolitical reality tends to change far more slowly than perceptions of it. To take a geophysical analogy: Underlying trends are like plate tectonics, slow to develop but irresistible over time; perceptions are like the weather, sometimes dramatic, often unpredictable and hardly irrelevant, but of lesser impact all the same. Perceptions of Europe have shifted markedly in just the past few years. Where once stood an attractive post-nationalist model of peace, prosperity, social justice and ecological virtue now stumbles a larger but seemingly aimless and far more ungainly project. Europe today seems apathetic about its achievements, confused about its future and largely ignored by those not directly affected by it. Thanks to the financial crisis and its meandering aftermath, Europe’s problems and limits seem lately to have accumulated into a genuine crisis."
- A Crisis of Wishing
Laqueur, Walter
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp6-9, online edition
"Europe used to be, within the living memory of many of us, the cockpit of world power, prosperity and prestige. Today it is raw material for an ouija board. Predictions about Europe’s future range from its impending suicide to its emergence as a unified, leading economic and political superpower. Of late most predictions, especially those coming out of Europe, have been on the dour and pessimistic side, and for good reason."
Walter Zeev Laqueur is an American historian and political commentator.
- Hubris Hurts
Hassner, Pierre
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp9-10
"Is Europe becoming interesting again? A few years ago, in the eyes of some Americans at least, it was basking in a comfortable yet boring “paradise”, having abandoned national sovereignties in favor of supranational institutions and left security to the protection of martial American power against a dangerous world. Today it looks to be on the verge of collapse, torn by acrimonious divisions both among its member states and within those states’ respective societies."
Pierre Hassner is research director emeritus at the National Foundation for Political Science in Paris.
- Drifting and at Risk
Burt, Richard
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp11-12, online edition
"For a host of reasons, the European project, one of the most impressive international achievements of the past fifty years, is in deep crisis. “Malaise”, a word made famous by President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s, now seems the most apt description of the European Union’s mood."
Richard Burt, a former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, is managing director at McLarty Associates, an international advisory firm.
- Diversity Wins Out
Stürmer, Michael
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5,#6, pp13-15
"Is Europe a global actor? The short answer is that the European Union is punching below its weight, and the Europeans have no one to blame for this state of affairs but themselves. European politicians got so good at pretending that the impossible was around the corner—a functioning federal union—that they ended up fooling themselves."
Michael Stürmer is chief correspondent of WELT-Gruppe in Berlin. He was an adviser to former Chancellor Kohl.
- The Models of Model
Volker, Kurt
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp16-17
"Why does the world today no longer see Europe as a model, as it seemed to do only a few years ago? It's simple: the world can't be expected to believe in a European model that Europeans don't seem to believe in themselves."
Kurt Volker is senior fellow and managing director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.
- A Retired Power
Krastev, Ivan
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp17-19
"As it stands now, Europe has lost its self-confidence, its energy and its hopes that the next century will be the “European century.” From Beijing to Washington—and even in Brussels it-self—the Old Continent is widely viewed as a spent geopolitical force, as a great place to live but not a great place to dream."
Ivan Krastev is chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and a fellow in the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.
- Beyond the Atlantic
Orenstein, Mitchell A.
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp19-21
"Since Barack Obama came to power, many Republicans have been busy painting him as a socialist and decrying his Administration for attempting to turn America into a European social welfare state. They seem, at least, to have a point. The United States has been adopting policies (or trying to) that look suspiciously European: nationalization of key industries, comprehensive health care reform, enhancements to the social safety net, state-directed investments, and a foreign policy based on arms reduction and consensus. Just how far will America travel down this path?"
Mitchell A. Orenstein is S. Richard Hirsch Associate Professor of European Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC.
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Decision Time
Palacio, Ana
American Interest, July/August 2010, v5, #6, pp21-24
"The Obama Administration’s apparent snubbing of Europe notwithstanding, Transatlantic relations still matter enormously to both sides. [...] We need a mature bond of kindred civilizations devoted to advancing the principles we share, rooted in reality and in the independent capacities of both partners, that will last."
Ana Palacio is a lawyer specializing in European law. She has served as Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain and has held different senior positions in the EU institutions. Fulltext articles F7/02-10
Player or Pawn?
Korski, Daniel
Internationale Politik (IP), May/June 2010, online edition, 7p
Ten years on, the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has more to show
for itself than most observers acknowledge. When it comes to Europe’s security,
the European Union may be the institution best positioned to guarantee it. But
to be viable, the Europeans must agree on their security threats and the need
for greater military spending.
Daniel Korski is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). Fulltext F8/02-10
Stumbling to a Start: Is the E.U. Prepared to Have a Genuinely Common Foreign Policy?
Vogel, Toby
Internationale Politik (IP Global), May 31, 2010, online exclusive, 5p (PDF)
"The European External Action Service (EEAS) is supposed to unify and consolidate
Europe’s foreign policy. But the competing demands of national governments,
European institutions, and individual actors threaten to derail the new
institution—and suggest that the European Union is collectively unprepared to
have a genuinely common foreign policy."
Toby Vogel covers foreign policy for European Voice, an Economist Group
newsweekly in Brussels. Fulltext F9/02-10
NATO's Final Frontier
Kupchan, Charles A.
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2010, v89, #3, pp100-113
"At NATO's 2010 summit, planned for November, the alliance's members intend to
adopt a new "strategic concept" to guide its evolution. NATO's relationship with Russia is at the top of the agenda. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and its NATO allies have constructed a post-Cold War order that effectively shuts Russia out. Although NATO and the European Union have embraced the countries of central and eastern Europe, they have treated Russia as an outsider, excluding it from the main institutions of the Euro-Atlantic community. Russia's isolation is in part a product of its own making. The country's stalled democratic transition and occasional bouts of foreign policy excess warrant NATO's continued role as a hedge against the reemergence of an expansionist Russia."
Charles A. Kupchan is Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown
University and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Fulltext F10/0-10
Nato 2020: Assured Security, Dynamic Engagement
NATO Publication, Analysis and Recommendations
of the Group of Experts on a New Strategic Concept
for NATO, May 17, 2010, online edition, 58p (PDF)
"The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) enters the second decade of the twenty-first century as an essential source of stability in an uncertain and unpredictable world. Looking ahead, the Alliance has ample grounds for confidence. The democratic principles that initially brought it together remain valid. The Cold War rivalry that once stirred fears of nuclear Armageddon has long since disappeared. NATO’s role in maintaining the unity, security and freedom of the Euro-Atlantic region is ongoing. Its
status as the globe’s most successful political-military Alliance is unchallenged. Yet NATO’s past accomplishments provide no guarantee for the future. Between now and 2020, it will be tested by the emergence of new dangers, the many-sided demands of complex operations, and the challenge of organising itself efficiently in an era where rapid responses are vital, versatility critical, and resources tight." Fulltext F11/02-10
NATO, New Allies and Reassurance
Asmus, Ronald D.; Czmur, Stefan; Donnelly, Chris; Ronis, Aivis;
Valasek, Tomas; Wittmann, Klaus
Centre for European Reform, May 12, 2010, online edition, 6p
"NATO spends too little time thinking about potential conflicts close to home and developing the means to react. Some of its members - mostly in Central and Eastern Europe - worry that the alliance would not be able to come to their defence in a crisis. NATO should take 'reassurance' measures to address this spreading sense of insecurity. It should create new mechanisms to study crises in and around Europe, improve its co-operation with the EU, and upgrade ports, air bases and other military facilities in Central and Eastern Europe."
Ronald Asmus is executive director of the German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Centre in Brussels and former US deputy assistant secretary of state. Brigadier General Stefan Czmur is the former deputy military representative of Poland to NATO. Chris Donnelly is the director of Institute for Statecraft and Governments. Aivis Ronis is the former permanent representative of Latvia to NATO and member of the group of experts for the new NATO strategic concept. Tomas Valasek is the director of foreign policy and defence at the Centre for European Reform. Brigadier General (ret.) Klaus Wittmann is the former director of academic planning and policy at the NATO Defence College in Rome. Fulltext F12/02-10
Renewing the Aged Alliance
Pond, Elizabeth
International Politike (IP), May 19, 2010, online exclusive, 4p (PDF)
"Once upon a time NATO’s successive strategic concepts spun out each era’s military theology. And once upon a time the strategy was a closely guarded secret. No more. The 2010 blue-ribbon draft that was just unveiled is aggressively public. Elite and popular feedback on it is being solicited far and wide prior to November's alliance summit in Lisbon that will prescribe alliance strategy for the next decade."
Elizabeth Pond is the founding editor of IP-Global edition. Fulltext F13/02-10
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