The security dimension of the transatlantic relations after EU-enlargement

Working Paper by Thomas Bauer

Thomas Bauer: The security dimension of the transatlantic relations after EU-enlargement, C·A·P Working Paper, July 2007.

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This paper was developed within the project "The Impact of EU Enlargement on European Integration and the Global Political Economy" that the C·A·P jointly conducts with the Centre for European Studies at the Renmin University of China. This project is supported by the European Commission in the framework of the EU-China European Studies Centres Programme.

20.07.2007 · EU-China European Studies

The global political landscape is currently facing an era of reshaping international relations. New powers are emerging in Asia, Russia is trying to regain its former role as an important global actor, and old established powers and alliances are affected by political debates concerning the right way of responding to the ever fasting changing strategic environment. The transatlantic relations and NATO as the key security alliance between the United States and Europe are both trying to deal with the consequences of this reshaping process. At the same time the relationship between the two sides of the Atlantic is undergoing a substantial change as well. Compared to the times of the cold war era, when one major focus of international relations lay on the confrontation of NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in the heart of Europe, the current development is characterized by a whole network of interdependent centres of gravity. This paper takes a closer look at the security dimension of the transatlantic relations in order to show that it is not enlargement alone that makes the current security co-operation between Europe and the United States so difficult. It rather seems to be a combination of a changing strategic environment, increasing stability within Europe and the consequences for American awareness of the European interests, and old security concerns of the Central and East European states that have led to different views on the world.

About the author:

Thomas Bauer is Research Fellow at the Center for Applied Policy Research (C·A·P) in Munich and the European Chair of the project's working group "EU-Enlargement and Transatlantic Relations". His main areas of Research are Security and Defence Policy, Armaments Policy, and Transatlantic Relations.

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