This book explores the evolution and future relevance of NATO from the perspective of the member-states. Addressing the overarching question of the relevance of transatlantic relations in the 21st century, the volume has three core objectives. The first is to reinforce the view that international alliances serve not only an external-oriented goal, but also a domestic-oriented aim, which is to control others’ behaviour. The second is to show that tensions amongst NATO allies have become more acute and, therefore, more dangerous. The third is to discuss current transatlantic relations through the adoption of a "second image" perspective; that is, one that emphasizes the multiple vertical linkages that connect NATO to the politics and the policies of each ally. The chapters presented here are built on a dual approach: on the one hand, they look at the place the Alliance occupies in the domestic public debate and the strategic culture of specific member states; on the other, they analyze how each of these countries contributes to NATO’s operations and what interests and visions they share for the Alliance’s future. This book will be of much interest to students of NATO, international organizations, foreign policy, and security studies in general.

Currently, scholars and political leaders are facing various global challenges: failing states, conflicts over distribution, terrorism and the refugee crisis represent only some of them. In this book, acclaimed experts from Germany and abroad offer a panorama of the international security threats of the 21st century. With a particular focus on the role of Germany, these experts present strategic approaches through which these challenges can be tackled in the most effective and sensible way, thus providing new impulses for the security policy debate in Germany.

The post-September 11th security policies of Poland, the UK, France, the US and Germany presented in this new book illustrate how and why the Atlantic community ruptured over Iraq, a result in part, it is argued, of the existence of particular national strategic cultures. Whilst the longer term effects of Iraq for the transatlantic security agenda have yet to fully transpire, what is certain is that the EU's ambitions to become a credible security actor have been seriously questioned, as has the notion of multilateralism as an international norm, as has the function of international law. The book addresses these issues by considering the evolution of the EU's role in the world and the development of American perspectives on the transatlantic security agenda. This volume was previously published as a special issue of the journal European Security.

This new Handbook provides readers with the tools to understand the evolution of transatlantic security from the Cold War era to the early 21st century. After World War II, the US retained a strong presence as the dominant member of NATO throughout the Cold War. Former enemies, such as Germany, became close allies, while even countries that often criticized the United States made no serious attempt to break with Washington. This pattern of security co-operation continued after the end of the Cold War, with NATO expansion eastwards extending US influence. Despite the Iraq war prompting a seemingly irreparable transatlantic confrontation, the last years of the Bush administration witnessed a warming of US-European relations, expected to continue with the Obama administration. The contributors address the following key questions arising from the history of transatlantic security relations: What lies behind the growing and continuing European dependency on security policy on the United States and what are the political consequences of this? Is this dependency likely to continue or will an independent European Common Foreign and Security Policy eventually emerge? What has been the impact of 'out-of-area' issues on transatlantic security cooperation? The essays in this Handbook cover a broad range of historical and contemporary themes, including the founding of NATO; the impact of the Korean War; the role of nuclear (non-)proliferation; perspectives of individual countries (especially France and Germany); the impact of culture, identity and representation in shaping post-Cold War transatlantic relations; institutional issues, particularly EU-NATO relations; the Middle East; and the legacy of the Cold War, notably tensions with Russia. This Handbook will be of much interest to students of transatlantic security, NATO, Cold War Studies, foreign policy and IR in general.

This book offers an overview of the interface between European integration, transatlantic relations, and the 'rise of the rest' in the early 21st century. The collapse of the Soviet bloc opened up an era in which the drivers and perceived benefits of the US alliance among European countries have become more variegated and shifting. The proposition that the US remains at once an 'indispensable' and 'intolerable' nation in Europe is a key concept in the alliance, as the US remains inextricably tied to the continent through economic, military and cultural links. This work examines this complex subject area from many angles, including an analysis of the historical and cultural contexts of America’s relations with Europe, as well as a discussion of the politics of transatlantic affairs which utilises evidence gleaned from a series of case-studies. In the concluding chapters, the author assesses the likelihood that the West can entrench its global dominance in the realms of "soft" and "hard" power, and by effecting a "controlled reform" that will see multilateral structures open up to emerging powers. This book will be of great interest to students of European Politics, EU integration, transatlantic relations, US foreign policy/diplomacy, International Security and IR in general.

In the 21st century, the transatlantic bargain that has framed the relationship between the United States and its NATO allies is under more scrutiny than ever before. In a changed geopolitical environment, one characterized by the complexity of modern military operations, the growing power of China, and a climate of economic austerity in the West, a consensus has emerged on both sides of the Atlantic as to the need for a revised bargain to accommodate the changing dynamics of global politics. Washington is becoming less and less willing to tolerate what it sees as fundamental gaps within the Alliance -- in defense spending, capabilities, and military transformation -- and is sending clear signals to its European allies, as well as NATO partners, that they must take on a greater share of Alliance burdens, accelerate efforts to generate capabilities and resources, and move away from a deeply-entrenched culture of dependency. European allies are learning they must approach transatlantic relations with a new maturity, and as efforts at multinational defense collaboration accelerate across Europe, there is evidence of a new approach to thinking about transatlantic relations. The transatlantic bargain was a Cold War construct suited to its time; what is required now is a transatlantic bargain that generates a new culture of transatlantic partnership, between the United States, NATO, and the European Union.

NATO's military intervention in Yugoslavia highlights the choices and problems confronting the alliance as it approaches the new century. An alliance created to keep Western Europe out of the Soviet orbit during the Cold War has sought to reinvent itself as a "crisis-management" organization to suppress conflicts on Europe's periphery - and perhaps beyond. Is NATO suited to playing such a role, or is the alliance a Cold War anachronism? How will Russia react to an enlarged NATO focused on out-of-area peacekeeping and conflict-prevention missions? Are there alternative security institutions that might better address Europe's security needs in the post-Cold War era?