Transatlantic relations in the 21st Century. Europe, America and the rise of the rest.

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.

Contents:

Introduction
1. Indispensable and Intolerable Nation: The United States in European Geopolitics
2. "Friends again" or "Drifting apart"
3. Defining Threats and Interests: Drivers, Processes, and Objectives
4. Transatlantic Threat Perceptions: "with friends like these, who needs enemies"?
5. The Forgotten Ballast: Economic Interdependence vs. High Politics
6. Regional Case-Studies: The Politics of Transatlantic Relations
7. NATO after Lisbon: New Compact or Obfuscation of Irreconcilable Differences?
8. Dogmas and Dependence: Assessing the NATO-CSDP Impasse 9. U.S.-NATO-EU Cooperation on the Ground
10. The Military Balance: Emerging Threats or New Providers of Global Public Goods?
11. Normative Contest: The Decline of Western "soft power"? 12. Locking in Western Dominance: The West in International Organizations