The Atlantic Becomes a Little Wider

Some analysts suggest that recent elections in Europe, combined with the 2008 presidential race promising new leadership for the US, will improve transatlantic relations. Think again, warns Richard Haass, president of the Council of Foreign Affairs, in an opinion essay for the Financial Times. Stable alliances require a measure of predictability, and Haass writes that “The 21st-century world is far more dynamic and fluid than the relatively stable and predictable period of the cold war.” Each with wealthy populations, anxious about jobs, the environment and other means of security, the US and Europe have fragmented goals, prompting each to rely on “selective co-operation,” issue by issue. Similar differences will emerge among the US and Pacific allies as well. Coalition-building and cooperation are more necessary than ever before, Haass argues. The good news, he concludes, is that traditional opponents will be more willing to work together on selective shared interests. Foreign policy leaders will confront challenges in tackling many competing goals and selective cooperation, Haass concedes, yet such skills will allow countries to “manage the threats inherent in globalisation rather than have them manage us.” – YaleGlobal