Interests and Norms: Divergence or Convergence?

Abstract

With the 2003 rupture in transatlantic relations and the opening of the Iraq front in America’s war on terrorism now in distant hindsight, have we again returned to a time when one can speak of a commonalty of ‘transatlantic’ interests? NATO’s engagement in Libya, a continuing consensus on ending the West’s combat role in Afghanistan in 2014, and a steady synergising of approaches to energy and cyber security as well as non-proliferation security would all seem to point in the direction of a renewed convergence of transatlantic interests and norms. However, divergent threads are also evident, including in terms of relations with China, attitudes toward Moscow, and whether and how NATO will continue to provide security beyond the immediate Euro-Atlantic zone. Complicating matters further is the unfolding of long-term trends in the transatlantic community. How, for instance, does one reconcile the move toward pooled sovereignty in Europe and the predisposition of European states toward multilateralism and global governance with the historic trend in the US toward exceptionalism and leadership? That tension has, for many years, played out within NATO (over how far the US is subordinate to or hegemonic within the organisation) – but, the Alliance, equally, has been the framework within which the US, Europeans, and Canada have constructed a normative consensus. This panel will explore NATO’s role in bridging the interest and normative gaps that some have identified as existing across the Atlantic.

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