In 1995, an article appeared in Foreign Affairs called “America, a European Power”. In it, the American diplomat Richard Holbrooke argued that the United States was bound to Europe and would continue to play a significant role there. Is this claim still valid today? The recent conflict over the war in Iraq marked the culmination of more than a decade of increasing bitterness and a widening political gap between many European countries and the United States – possibly the gravest clash between Europe and the United States since World War II. Many books, and articles have echoed this view, written by commentators who don’t believe it is a temporary split whose wounds will heal in a relatively short time. On the contrary, the breach appears deep, fundamental and likely to last a long time. If this is true, then the United States cannot possibly be regarded as a “European power” either now or in the future.
The United States and Europe today quite evidently often hold different views about world affairs, and differ widely in their capabilities and interests. Yes, there are trade wars and serious political clashes, but nevertheless the US and the EU remain bound together because the US is – despite recent setbacks – still the world’s sole superpower, or even “hyperpower” as some of its opponents would have it. For the immediate future, though, its power position remains robust and Europe exploits this by leaving vital problems of European and global security to the United States. For its part, the US needs Europe as part of its over-arching world order. The two power blocs are therefore interdependent, even if the relationship is asymmetrical because of America’s influence over Europe. And it is this influence that continues to make the US a “European power”.
Economically, the US is certainly a European power because it has such a strong economic presence in Europe. Look at all the US-based multinationals, huge investments and America’s impressive position as a trading partner, not to speak of the international importance of the dollar in comparison to the euro.
Militarily, the US presence is also powerful; almost 100,000 US soldiers are still stationed in Europe, more than on any other continent. They are equipped with modern and effective weapons systems, positioned primarily in Germany in vast bases. NATO has, meanwhile, expanded to cover most of Europe, making the US the guardian of European security.
Culturally, the United States also exerts great influence. It is the largest provider of films and television programmes and is a trend-setter in our everyday lives. European culture and customs are continually being Americanised, and English has become the second language for many.
And politically, the United States is heavily engaged in European affairs. Right from the start in post-war Europe the US acted as midwife to European Integration. The director of the Marshall Plan, Paul Hoffmann, was even the first to use the term “integration” when describing the process in which different countries agreed to pool their sovereignties and create supranational institutions. The United States has been a strong supporter of the integration process in Europe and continues to urge the EU to expand. Turkey is its first priority, but the addition of Ukraine and other states emerging from the dissolution of the Soviet Union have also had its support. The United States keeps on pushing Europe to act as an international unit – except when it comes to vital security matters.
American interest in European integration is primarily self-interest, especially with regard to its overall security. Political objectives have taken precedence over economic ones, and as distinguished Norwegian historian Geir Lundestad has put it: “Most key (US) policymakers concluded that however harmful European integration might be to some American interests, on the whole such integration was beneficial to the US, even economically.”
So to American eyes European integration was not just about prosperity, democracy, civil society, freedom and human rights in the European area, but also – and not least – about security, including that of the US itself. The creation of the European Union would thus help realise the Eisenhower administration’s long-term policy of the 1950s: “A solid power mass in Western Europe would ultimately attract to it all the Soviet satellites, and the threat to peace would disappear.” When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 this prophecy was fulfilled.
The issue of security is currently receiving considerable attention. Both Europe and the United States agree that terrorism is a major challenge that requires the highest priority in terms of security policy. Both are following a similar security strategies, but even here there are differences. The US considers itself at war, fighting a long global battle against terror. Europe is also trying to stem the spread of terror but the EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana has asserted that “Europe is not a continent at war”. Both partners are ultimately concerned with similar security problems, but their fundamental threat assessments differ. The worst-case scenario for the European Union would be fragmentation, bringing with it a return to something like the violent conflicts of the 20th century. The United States’ worst case would be the emergence of other superpowers, competitors who could challenge their national security and put an end to the existence of the US as we know it today.
History has shown that serious disagreement between the two Atlantic entities occurs, and does so quite often. The two are structurally bound together in a way that still allows room for bitter and grave controversies like those at the beginning of the 1970s and then in the early 1980s and finally in the first decade of this century. The current EU-US crisis is a result of differing policies, on each side of the Atlantic, yet within a transatlantic structure that inevitably propels the two entities towards each other. The United States is taking care of European security for reasons linked to its own security, and this in turn facilitates and promotes European integration. As long as the United States remains the only superpower, it will stay in an asymmetric but interdependent relationship with Europe. And the EU has expanded, so has the US has extended its influence over Europe. In this way the United States has truly become a “European power”.