In 2018, the first full year of the Trump presidency, it became abundantly clear that the transatlantic relationship had entered a period of intense discord, causing a series of pessimistic reports... Show moreIn 2018, the first full year of the Trump presidency, it became abundantly clear that the transatlantic relationship had entered a period of intense discord, causing a series of pessimistic reports and commentary in the mainstream Anglo-American media. With this as the starting point, the article re-examines the study of the ‘transatlantic’ as a region. It engages with thinking of time (periodisation), space (scale), and discipline (methodology) in order to question standard assumptions and open up new avenues for research, identity-formation, and emancipatory commitment. Show less
In less unusual times, the European Union’s Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy would have been received as merely the latest iteration of the main tenets and ambitions of EU external... Show moreIn less unusual times, the European Union’s Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy would have been received as merely the latest iteration of the main tenets and ambitions of EU external action – this time with an enhanced dose of pragmatism to respond to a more challenging international environment. However, with ‘Brexit’ looming large and one and a half years into the Trump Presidency in the United States, the Global Strategy has acquired a new level of significance. This article argues that while meant to express a largely uncontroversial ‘Western’ consensus, it now needs to be re-contextualized as a distinctive vision in the face of trends of antiglobalism and Euroscepticism. This concerns in particular the Strategy’s emphasis on rules-based global governance. Challenged by both President Trump’s ‘America First’ policy and the British government’s course for a ‘hard Brexit’, the Global Strategy now represents a contested blueprint and rallying point for a continued pursuit of a liberal world order based on the rule of law. Show less
This essay takes President John F. Kennedy’s visionary ‘Declaration of Interdependence’ of 1962, in which he called for a concrete transatlantic partnership on equal footing as the benchmark to... Show moreThis essay takes President John F. Kennedy’s visionary ‘Declaration of Interdependence’ of 1962, in which he called for a concrete transatlantic partnership on equal footing as the benchmark to assess today’s relationship between the USA and the European Union in defence matters. The central question is: can the European Union with its emerging security and defence policy be seen as one of the two supporting pillars of NATO next to the USA? To this end, the general security strategies, the institutional frameworks and capabilities, as well as the defence industries of both sides are compared. The result is that, although the strategies and initiatives taken by the EU point towards a more equitable partnership, the current state of capabilities and defence industries make it impossible to conclude that NATO rests on two equal pillars. Nevertheless, in view of the history of European integration and in anticipation of the fresh impetus to be given by the Obama administration, the author closes by suggesting a less static image of the transatlantic partnership, namely that of an ever-changing, yet ever-closer partnership. Show less
