.svg)
The Redefinition of the Transatlantic Partnership
Traditionally, the dominant agenda in transatlantic relations has been military security governed by the US and its nuclear preponderance. The “balance of threat” resulted in the primacy of the military sphere over the economic sphere. Since 1985 the US-EU agenda has changed fundamentally due to the disappearance of the Soviet- American security agenda, structural developments in the world economy, and the attempt on both sides to re-examine their respective roles in the international system with respect to the economic and security spheres.
That this paper aims to provide a general picture of the post-Cold war transatlantic partnership, to reveal the major challenges and problems affecting the very existence of this privileged partnership in the new contractual post-Cold War environment, rather than to present a detailed examination of all historical happenings in chronological order. Besides, the purpose of this paper is not to offer prolific scenarios or “grand designs” of the transatlantic relationship in the style of American think tanks. Instead, it should be conceived as an attempt to help understand the empirical development and theoretical conceptualization of the “new” US-EU relationship.
Author: Jana Grittersová
