Visions of America and Europe: September 11, Iraq, and Transatlantic Relations

Of the many books analyzing the clash between the Bush administration and much of Europe, this one, based on a conference held in 2003, is among the most valuable. This is so not only because of shrewd analyses by its coeditors, Serfaty (who provides a disenchanted introduction on "multidimensional ambivalence" on both sides of the Atlantic) and Balis (who takes on "elite Europhobia" in the United States); it also stems from its inclusion of multiple viewpoints. Christopher Hill incisively analyzes the dilemmas faced by the United Kingdom in its relationship with Washington. Guillaume Parmentier provides a sensible account of Franco-American divergences, especially over conceptions of power. Michael Sturmer writes critically of a "German revolution waiting to happen." Dmitri Trenin subtly describes Vladimir Putin's efforts to stay close to Washington and the hostility of Russian elites to his policy. The volume offers no bold views of a transatlantic future-common or fractured-but that is hardly the fault of the authors: recent haggling over NATO's role in Iraq shows that transatlantic relations have yet to overcome the traumas of 2003.