Transatlantic rupture : legitimacy, integration and security

Abstract

Donald Trump complains that Europeans do not spend enough on defence, that the European Union trades unfairly with the United States, and that the EU was created to harm American interests. Historical context defuses these grievances. The United States fostered European integration after the Second World War and throughout the Cold War, encouraging Europe to intertwine with the US economically. Now trade between them constitutes just a fraction of shared economic activity. The United States initially accepted and then insisted on taking the lead in providing European security. By challenging these realities, the Trump administration has turned away from eight decades of US policy and violated the European trust on which that policy has rested. The EU will adapt, but European perceptions of the United States have fundamentally changed. This rupture in the transatlantic partnership is liable to hurt American prosperity and undermine American global leadership.