Europe and America - A Return to History (Paperback)

Americans and Europeans continue to have a unique relationship. But what is the foundation for this special affinity? Is it but a legacy of the Cold War and a remnant of attitudes forged when Americans and Europeans banded together to resist Soviet communism? Or does it have a more enduring foundation? The two essays in this book reflect on these central questions. Taken together, they probe the transatlantic past as well as our understanding of it, seeking to draw lessons and guidance for the future. Miles Kahler begins by questioning the prevailing narrative of transatlantic relations. He casts doubt on the widely accepted notion that the strength and durability of U.S.-European ties have been the product primarily of external threat. By examining periods prior to the onset of the Cold War, Kahler underscores that the transatlantic community also has deep economic, ideological, and cultural roots. Werner Link takes a different, but equally fresh, tack. He examines chronologically the blueprints that have formed U.S.- European relations over the past century. By thinking through how geopolitics and politics have interacted to produce many different versions of a recurring puzzle, Link offers a useful catalogue of competing paradigms for thinking about the future. Europe and America is an insightful study of both historical analogies and the future of the transatlantic relationship.