Home › Discussions › Letters to the Editor › Dogma Days

Dogma Days

By Uffe Ellemann-Jensen
January/February 2004
Print Email
Login or Register to leave a comment.

Sign-up for free weekly updates from ForeignAffairs.com.
Essay
Rebuilding the Atlantic Alliance
Ronald D. Asmus

Despite the myriad setbacks of recent months, the U.S.-European alliance is not doomed. But repairing it will require a strategic overhaul no less bold than that which followed the end of the Cold War. The key to today's transatlantic divide is not power but purpose. To revive and revamp the alliance, therefore, the United States and the European Union must forge a new grand strategy capable of meeting the great challenges of the era: expanding the Euro-Atlantic community and stabilizing the greater Middle East.

To the Editor:

Ronald D. Asmus is right to point out that the transatlantic alliance has been shaken over Iraq ("Rebuilding the Atlantic Alliance," SeptemberffiOctober 2003). But these differences are reconcilable. The European Union is in the process of adopting a security strategy that identifies terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and failed states as the greatest threats to security. The same threats are identified in the 2002 U.S. National Security Strategy document. The United States and Europe thus disagree on the means, rather than the ends.

One of the biggest challenges -- on both sides of the Atlantic -- is to end dogmatic thinking about NATO. Nato should remain the hub of transatlantic military cooperation, but the EU's military role should also be strengthened. In practice, we see the outlines of how a division of labor might work, with NATO focusing on collective defense and high-intensity military operations, while the EU force concentrates on humanitarian operations, post-conflict stabilization, and, increasingly, homeland security.

This proposal does not imply throwing the United States out of Europe. Europe needs U.S. help in stabilizing its new neighbors. Washington, meanwhile, needs Europe's assistance in the Middle East. But it is time for the EU to take the lead in dealing with problems closer to home.

Such strategic vision requires firm leadership. This means European leaders must stop talking about a multipolar world -- as if Europe were a teenager forming its identity by deliberately opposing its parent. And it means having the courage to make long-term strategic decisions, rather than tactical ones with an eye on the next election.

UFFE ELLEMANN-JENSEN

Former Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs

Related

Essay, Sep/Oct 2003
Rebuilding the Atlantic Alliance
Ronald D. Asmus

Despite the myriad setbacks of recent months, the U.S.-European alliance is not doomed. But repairing it will require a strategic overhaul no less bold than that which followed the end of the Cold War. The key to today's transatlantic divide is not power but purpose. To revive and revamp the alliance, therefore, the United States and the European Union must forge a new grand strategy capable of meeting the great challenges of the era: expanding the Euro-Atlantic community and stabilizing the greater Middle East.

Read
Essay, Nov/Dec 2003
Reinventing the West
Dominique Moïsi

During the Cold War, the ever-present Soviet threat helped keep the West united. More recently, however, attempts to mend the transatlantic rift by pointing to present dangers have only deepened the cultural divide. Leaders on both sides of the Atlantic must accept that "the West" has now split into European and American halves. But both sides still need each other -- now more than ever.

Read
Essay, Jan/Feb 2005
The North Atlantic Drift
William Drozdiak

To repair the damaged transatlantic alliance, the second Bush administration must rediscover the values of Republican internationalism. Fortunately, the recent enlargement of NATO and the EU gives Washington a great chance to buttress the allies' economic ties, security strategy, and foreign policy.

Read