1st Edition

Old Europe, New Europe and the US Renegotiating Transatlantic Security in the Post 9/11 Era

By Tom Lansford, Blagovest Tashev Copyright 2005

    Iraq can be considered the 'perfect storm' which brought out the stark differences between the US and Europe. The disagreement over the role of the United Nations continues and the bitterness in the United States against its betrayal by allies like France is not diminishing. Meanwhile, the standing of the United States among the European public has plummeted. Within Europe, political tensions between what US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld euphemistically called the 'Old' Europe and the 'New' Europe continue to divide. To fully comprehend these rifts, this volume takes a specific look at the core security priorities of each European state and whether these interests are best served through closer security collaboration with the US or with emerging European structures such as the European Rapid Reaction Force. It analyzes the contribution each state would make to transatlantic security, the role they envisage for existing security structures such as NATO, and the role the US would play in transatlantic security.

    Contents: Introduction: US security policy and the new Europe, Tom Lansford. Old Europe: French security agenda in the post-9/11 world, Robert J. Pauly, Jr; A changing view of responsibility? German security policy in the post-9/11 world, Scott Brunstetter; Britain and transatlantic security: negotiating two bridges far apart, Mary Troy Johnston; Russia and the 'Old' Europe versus 'New' Europe debate: US foreign policy and the Iraq War 2003, Mira Duric; Benelux security policy, Dirk C. van Raemdonck; Italian security in the Berlusconi era: business as usual, Mark Sedgwick. New Europe: In search of security: Bulgaria's security policy in transition, Blagovest Tashev; The dilemma of 'dual loyalty': Lithuania and transatlantic tensions, Dovile Budryte; Czech Republic's Role with regard to the trans-atlantic security challenges, Petr Vancura; Poland's security and transatlantic relations, Andrzej Kapiszewski with Chris Davis; Slovakia, Ivo Samson; Hungary, László Valki; Romania's position towards the evolution of the transatlantic link after 11 September 2001, Mihail E. Ionescu; Conclusion: values and interests: European support for the intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq, Michael Mihalka; Select Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Tom Lansford is Assistant Dean for the College of Arts and Letters, and Associate Professor of Political Science, at the University of Southern Mississippi in Long Beach, Mississippi, USA. Blagovest Tashev is Director, Security Studies Program, George C. Marshall Association-Bulgaria and Adjunct Professor, St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University, Bulgaria.

    '...offers a comprehensive overview of the main contemporary issues in transatlantic security...a unique and compelling collection that is rigorously researched and written in an approachable and accessible style. This trenchant analysis should be read by policymakers and scholars on both sides of the Atlantic.' Philip Dimitrov, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Ambassador to the United States 'This book of essays...focuses on the Euro-Atlantic political-security dimension of contemporary world politics as it relates to - although not exclusively - the Iraq situation...This thoughtful book provides a comprehensive overview of these unique national conditions, thereby enabling the informed reader...to obtain a grasp of the complexity of the contemporary trans-Atlantic based political-security world in which we live.' Robert S. Jordan, University of New Orleans, USA '...a major contribution to the current debates on transatlantic relations.' Journal of European Affairs and europeananalysis.org.uk 'People interested in comparative foreign policy will find the book very useful, as it addresses policies from countries that are not always considered important...Recommended.' Choice '...provides a first overview of the nature of the transatlantic relationship.' Political Studies Review 'What makes this work fascinating and useful is the editors' decision to include articles devoted to security issues and the policies of states as small as Slovakia or the Netherlands and as large as the United States. That Lithuania and Bulgaria have security needs and policies to meet them is self-evident, but often ignored.' H-Net Review