Economic Necessities and Atlantic Communities
Article Summary and Author Biography
In the Atlantic Policy Studies conducted during the past three years by the Council on Foreign Relations four books with a predominantly economic content are being published.[i] The authors and subjects of these books are, in order of publication: John O. Coppock on agriculture; John Pincus on less developed countries; Bela Balassa on trade liberalization among industrial countries; and Richard N. Cooper on international monetary affairs (to be published later this year). From these sources and from others, Harold Van B. Cleveland, in another volume in the series, has drawn conclusions about Atlantic economic relations in his "The Atlantic Idea and Its European Rivals." The purpose of this article is not to review these significant studies but to appraise their conclusions about whether the economic connections and conflicts in the Atlantic are, on balance, moving the nations of the area toward a coherent community in some sense of the word.
In the Atlantic Policy Studies conducted during the past three years by the Council on Foreign Relations four books with a predominantly economic content are being published.[i] The authors and subjects of these books are, in order of publication: John O. Coppock on agriculture; John Pincus on less developed countries; Bela Balassa on trade liberalization among industrial countries; and Richard N. Cooper on international monetary affairs (to be published later this year). From these sources and from others, Harold Van B. Cleveland, in another volume in the series, has drawn conclusions about Atlantic economic relations in his "The Atlantic Idea and Its European Rivals." The purpose of this article is not to review these significant studies but to appraise their conclusions about whether the economic connections and conflicts in the Atlantic are, on balance, moving the nations of the area toward a coherent community in some sense of the word.
A proponent of the Atlantic idea will not find in these books, either in the economic analyses or in their conclusions, much support for his case. Mr. Cleveland's pessimistic conclusions-essentially that Europe and America will go their separate ways except as external threats pull them together- are largely consistent with the findings of the economist-authors of the specialized studies. Both he and Cooper, oddly enough, find conflicts in the one area in which coöperation seems to have been greatest-in international monetary affairs. But proponents of greater Atlantic unity will find much here that adds to the state of their knowledge as well as much to tax their patience, because the books are by and (except Cleveland's) for scholars.
In approaching the question of economic interdependence versus conflict in the Atlantic area, it is essential to recognize a reality the authors underemphasize-that there is an economic counterpart to the protection of the nuclear umbrella enjoyed by the Europeans. The American nuclear umbrella permits European states to follow independent and sometimes irresponsible foreign policies. By assuming the main economic burden of defense as well as the main burden of maintaining monetary stability, the United States also permits the Europeans a greater degree of independence in monetary and fiscal policies than they would have if they were carrying comparable burdens.
This is a premium article
You must be a logged in Foreign Affairs subscriber to continue reading. If you wish to continue reading this article please subscribe , or activate your online account to get full online access.
Sign-up for free weekly updates from ForeignAffairs.com.