Europe - USA: Diverging Partners

Both Europe and the US have now dampened the shrillness of the invective hurled against each other over the last years. But the underlying differences have not been resolved. The two sides drift apart in their views on what internal politics should achieve; as well as in their vision of the global order they would like to see established. The economies of both Europe and the US are highly developed and densely interwoven. Their societies are post industrial. Many social and economic trends converge. Similar too, are the challenges to maintain security against threats emanating from other parts of the world. Divergences thus do not originate from conflicting material interests. They arise from different perceptions of the nature and of threats from the outside world; from how the two societies wish to define themselves through their internal and external policies. The search for a distinct "European" or "American" identity fuels this discord. Therefore, appeals to common, merely material interests will not obliterate it. The contributions to this book come from altogether twelve authors each of them addressing the issues from the perspective of his or her own discipline. The book aims to reach not just academia but also beyond to those that are involved in actual international decision making.