2251. Sword or Ploughshare? New Roles for NATO and the Changing Nature of Transatlantic Relations
- Author:
- Olaf Theiler
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- The Western community is currently experiencing “a defining moment of international relations” as it undergoes one of its biggest and most severe crises. Some authors are already speaking of the “end of the West,” while others see chances for its rebirth. As the institutional epitome of transatlantic relations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has always been the most important yardstick for gauging their state. It is now once again at the center of the crisis. During the Cold War, NATO and hence the transatlantic partnership were based on three central elements: Firstly, a shared direct existential threat, which applied equally to all Western states; secondly, a broad base of common values, standards and convictions; and thirdly, a division of labor and system of burden and risk-sharing that were born of necessity. As the biggest military and economic power, the U.S. assumed a dominant role as 'primus inter pares' in the transatlantic alliance, which the weaker European partners voluntarily joined without becoming completely subordinate.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, NATO, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe