In the aftermath of the Cold War era, a new world order is being created at an extraordinary pace. Europe is becoming a more unified power, Germany is assuming a central role within that power, NATO is looking for a new mission, the former Soviet Union has ceased to be a superpower threat, and the United States is going through its own superpower adjustments. As these dramatic shifts occur, a crucial questions for world stability is the future relationship between the United States and Europe.
This volume brings together some of the best-informed and most-experienced international personalities to interpret the repercussions of these twists of the European kaleidoscope. They assess the impact the changes will have on future political, economic, trade, financial, industrial, and security developments, and above all, on U.S.-european realtionships.
David Owen considers the future of the transatlantic partnership from his perspective as a former British foreign secretary and a member of Parliament; Michel Rocard, a former French prime minister, forsees a more balanced partnership, both in security matters and in economic relations; and Jean François-Poncet, a senator and leading columnist for Le Figaro and a former French foreign minister, points toward an ever greater need for U.S.-European cooperation in tomorrow’s unstable world.
Michael Stürmer, the head of the think tank Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, addresses the need for Germany and the United States to work together to strengthen the U.S.-European alliance. Leonhard Gleske, recently retired director of the Deutsche Bundesbank, considers the implications of European monetary integration and its effect on the United States. Kurt Biedenkopf, Minister President of Saxony and former member of the Bundestag, focuses on the lessons from German reunification for the unification of Europe. Giovanni Agnelli, the head of Fiat, deals with the industrial role of the European Community as a “United States of Europe”.
James Schlesinger, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Energy, and Assistant Director of the Office of management and Budget, assesses the importance of the transatlantic partnership from an American perspective.
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