Living with a Reluctant Hegemon: The Transatlantic Conflict Over Multilateral Arms Control

Abstract: Scholars and commentators have long debated a `unilateralist' tendency in US foreign policy, but have largely neglected the question of how other states attempt to deal with the problem, particularly with increasing US opposition to multilateral treaty intiatives. This article describes and explains European responses to US unilateralism in three transatlantic conflicts over multilateral arms control agreements: the AntiPersonnel Landmines Ban, the UN Process on Small Arms, and the Biological Weapons Protocol. The article shows that European responses have varied between accommodation and resistance, and tests hypotheses about four potential determinants of European choices: expected treaty effectiveness, transatlantic rivalry, consensus norms, and the influence of non-government activists. The findings suggest that European responses reflect a strong concern for treaty effectiveness, but are also constrained by norms of consensual decision-making. Activist pressure can overcome this `compromise bias' of government diplomacy.