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by
Brian MURPHY:
Co-Director, EU Center Univ. System
of Georgia, (Sam Nunn Scholl of Int. Affairs, Georgia
Institute of Technology)
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10th June 2003
Imploding From Within: The EU'S Foreign Policy Architecture
In theory, the lessons from the invasion of Iraq are coming in a timely manner for the European Union as it debates a future constitution that will define its structure, decision-making procedures, and policies. Everything is on the table for revision and that is good as the EU's flawed foreign policy architecture experienced a collapse during the tense moments of the past few months... Read the article
18th April 2003
The Diplomatic Chessboard: Who Moves First?
At the fall of the Berlin Wall, then-President George Bush announced the inauguration of a "New World Order." However, the end of the Cold War failed to produce a clear geo-political policy or strategy after more than a decade. This situation is understandable because many traditional moorings broke loose and the flux never resolved itself into a stable enough political environment to build guiding doctrine. As former Israeli Prime Minister Simon Perez stated, "When you lose your enemy, you lose your foreign policy." Without a compass, responses to international events became little more than reflexive reactions determined by what needed to be accomplished immediately to restore equilibrium... Read the article
28th February 2003
Building the Transatlantic Bridge
The transatlantic relationship is currently under its greatest strain since the end of World War II. At this critical moment, we need to focus on what works: the transatlantic economic connection. It is the glue that holds the partnership together. At the same time, we must ensure that a bridge is built that links the two societies in order to escape the failed diplomacy taking place through official channels. The deepening of interaction at the civil society level is the second component of healing the transatlantic divide... Read the article
29th January 2003
The Transatlantic Relationship: More Heat Will Not Thaw the Ice
The signs of transatlantic drift are escalating in number and intensity. The dispute over Iraq is a symptom, not the cause, of the ever-widening gulf across the Atlantic. What must be recognized is that the roots of the tension are embedded in the characters of very different societies. Since cultural values are at stake, the collision must be addressed through an effort to define priorities that will facilitate cooperation. In basic terms, the United States and European Union do not have to get along but merely tolerate one another. The Cold War retarded the process of developing transatlantic understanding because open dialogue about differences was muted in the interest of projecting a united front toward the USSR. The U.S. became accustomed to deference from Europe but this leadership mode is now becoming a source of instability at the global level. As the EU is beginning to demand more respect, which is sometimes warranted but sometimes not, a new transatlantic equation must be defined to maintain any future hope of international security. The paradox is that equilibrium must be established in an uneven power relationship... Read the article
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