Europe and Asia

1
Europe and Asia GSAPS '13

• AMERICA vs EUROPE
• The clash of two worldviews and why they should
  reconcile
• Tiago Alexandre Fernandes Mauricio
• 4013R054-1

2
Outline

• Introduction?
• What is the problem?
• What are the implications?
• What are the solutions?
• Conclusions
• References

3
Introduction

• Abandoning the techno-institutionalist approach
  to cooperation and integration
• Bird's-eye view of fundamental geopolitical
  shifts in world power
• Why should we listen to R. Kagan?
• Took up several important posts
• State Dept.'s Policy Planning Division
• Assistant to SecState George Schultz
• Advisor to Sen. McCain's Presidential race
• Illustrious family son of Donald Kagan, brother
  of Frederick Kagan

4
What is the problem?

• America and Europe live worlds apart
• Dissension in matters of peace and war
• The transatlantic divide is deep, long in
  development and likely to endure
• Differences are explained by the distribution of
  power and historical experiences
• America's culture of death vs.Europe's Ode
  to Joy

5
What is the problem?

• America
• Mars (war)
• Hobbesian necessity
• Behemoth (big power)
• Hyperpower
• Colossus
• International sheriff
• Youthful dreamer
• Savior of Europe and Civilisation

• Europe
• Venus (love)
• Kantian luxury
• David (small power)
• Military pygmy
• Albatross
• Village saloonkeeper
• Decrepit retiree
• Overheated incubator of world wars

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America, the God of War

• Going up the food chain
• WWI and a lost opportunity
• WWII and the rise to preeminence
• Cold War and the unipolar moment
• Finality in world politics (kill the bear)
• Hard security and eradicating threats
• Preference of military tools
• Utility and morality of machtpolitik
• Unilateralism on a whim

7
Europe, the Goddess of Love

• Honorable retirement
• WWI and the beginning of the end
• WII and European twilight
• Cold War and the burial of Pax Europa
• Politics of accommodation (live with the bear)
• Soft security and negotiating challenges
• Preference to economic tools
• Postmodernist transcendence of power
• Multilateralism as a mantra

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What are the implications?

• America is a leviathan force trapped in history
• Deals with systemic threats
• Shoulders the burden of waging war
• Extends its security umbrella with coercion
• Europe is an utopian dream beyond history
• Emphasises international law and diplomacy
• Promotes economic development and peace
• Defuses challenges by attraction

9
What are the implications?

• European foreign policy is historically rooted
• Stems from the horrors of two world wars
• Rejects power politics and hegemonic ambitions
• Stresses self-imposed rules of behaviour
• German lion in bed with the French lamb
• America made the European miracle possible
• Economic recovery
• Defence against external (and internal) enemies

10
What are the implications?

• Ungrateful Europe condemns America's role
• T.G. Ash America has too much power for
  anyone's good, including its own
• Romano Prodi power politics have lost their
  influence
• Hubert Védrine To Paris, the United States
  looks like a hyperpower
• America feels the wind on its back
• M. Albright the world's 'indispensable nation'
• C. Krauthammer the unipolar moment
• R. Cooper using the laws of the jungle

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What are the solutions?

• Europe should build up its military power
• Britons still remember the empire
• French still seek la gloire
• Germans still want their place in the sun
• Europe should partake in America's battles
• America should show more understanding toward
  others

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Conclusions

• Transatlantic divide is the result of material
  and ideological transformations
• Different conceptions of power, force, and law
  contribute to formation of two worldviews
• Europe will become less capable of shaping the
  international environment
• America's commitment to uphold European defence
  will decrease but remain present

13
Questions

• Why is Musica Universalis important?
• Americanise Europe or Europeanise America?
• Is Europe's pacifism criminal neglect?
• Is America's activism morally justifiable?

14
References

• C. Krauthammer (1990), The Unipolar Moment,
  Foreign Affairs, 70(1), pp. 23-33
• H. Védrine (1999), To Paris, U.S. Looks like
  Hyperpower, New York Times, Feb 5
• R. Kagan (2002), Power and Weakness, Policy
  Review, No. 113, June/July, pp. 3-28
• S. Huntington (1999), The Lonely Superpower,
  Foreign Affairs, 78(2), pp. 35-49