Toward a New Transatlantic Bargain

Karl-Heinz Kamp, Kurt Volker Policy Outlook February 1, 2012

Summary

A renewed commitment from both sides of the Atlantic is essential to ensuring NATO’s continued success.

Related Topics

Full Text

Add a comment

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is often described as the most successful military alliance in history. In addition to longevity, those characterizing NATO this way are usually thinking of the Alliance’s role in protecting freedom and guaranteeing peace in Europe against a hostile Soviet Union, right up until the Iron Curtain fell. NATO’s role in ending ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, and in helping to reintegrate Central and Eastern Europe into the mainstream of the continent, only added to this positive image of the Alliance.

For NATO to hold together all this time—even amid such monumental challenges as the Suez crisis, the Hungarian revolution, the Prague Spring, Vietnam, Pershing missiles, and Kosovo—it is clear that allies maintained an underlying commitment to each other and to the cause of an alliance greater than the sum of its parts. The recognition that each side of the Atlantic was willing to sacrifice a bit to the other for the benefit of the whole is what is meant by the concept of a “transatlantic bargain.” For decades, this transatlantic bargain—though predominantly unstated and uncodified—was instinctively understood and acted upon.

In more recent years, this transatlantic bond has been sorely tested, over the war in Iraq, over different perceptions of Russia, of missile defense, of terrorism, and even over differing interpretations of relations with Georgia and Ukraine. Whether or how NATO survives the severity of these tests still remains to be seen. NATO will surely come out best, however, if there is a renewed commitment on both sides of the Atlantic to some of the fundamentals of the Alliance that are important to both sides—a renewal of the transatlantic bargain.

This piece was adapted from the executive summary of The Transatlantic Bargain, a study sponsored by the NATO Defense College in Rome and the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. The full study is available here.

Comments

Email Updates

Follow the conversation—Sign up to receive email updates when comments are posted to this article. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

Screen Name Email Address* (Nevermind this field if you have CSS turned off)
Subscribe

Comment Policy

Report Abuse

Source: http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/02/01/toward-new-transatlantic/9bn1

More from The Global Think Tank

Like Wedding Rings or Euros? Nuclear Weapons in Europe

Summary While security conditions in Europe remain relatively benign, NATO states should recapitalize their security commitments and clarify their crisis decisionmaking procedures. More >

National Interest

The Dirty Secret of U.S.-European Relations

Summary As the global center of gravity shifts toward the Pacific, the nature of relations between the United States and Europe is likely to shift. More >

A New Equation for the Transatlantic Alliance

Summary Europe must be able to define and implement a strategic role for itself in the global arena, confident of its capabilities and values, aware of its interests, and able to define its parameters. More >

February 1, 2012 Brussels

Towards a New Transatlantic Bargain

Summary The success of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's recent operation in Libya cannot paper over ongoing concerns within the Alliance over common goals and commitments. More >

November 28, 2011 Brussels

The New Challenges to Global Security: NATO's Response

Summary Global Security in the 21st century is an ever elusive goal and NATO must face emerging security challenges in counter terrorism, cyber defense, energy security, and non-proliferation. More >

October 5, 2011 Brussels

Leon Panetta from Tripoli to Chicago: Charting NATO's Future on the Way to the 2012 Summit

Summary NATO is facing a number of serious challenges from the current fiscal and security environment and the successful realization of the alliance’s security responsibilities requires dependable partners that more equitably share the ensuing burden. More >

Twitter

@CarnegieEndow

In Fact

70%

of oil consumed in the United States

is for the transportation sector.

20%

of Chechnya’s pre-1994 population

has fled to different parts of the world.

58%

of oil consumed in China

was from foreign sources in 2012.

million cases pending

in India’s judicial system.

million people killed

in Cold War conflicts.

18%

of the U.S. economy

is consumed by healthcare.

$536

billion in goods and services

traded between the United States and China in 2012.

$100

billion in foreign investment and oil revenue

have been lost by Iran because of its nuclear program.

4700%

increase in China’s GDP per capita

between 1972 and today.

$11

billion have been spent

to complete the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.

of Iran’s electricity needs

is all the Bushehr nuclear reactor provides.

new airports

are set to be built in China by 2015.

journalists

were imprisoned in Turkey as of August 2012 according to the OSCE.

67%

of the world's population

will reside in cities by 2050.

million Russian citizens

are considered “ethnic Muslims.”

Stay in the Know

Enter your email address in the field below to receive the latest Carnegie analysis in your inbox!

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Regions

Countries