US and Europe after the Pivot: Emerging Transatlantic Security Issues

Abstract

In January 2012, the US Defense Department released its latest Strategic Guidance. Signed by President Obama, the document made headlines primarily for its statement that the United States would “of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region.” In spite of the fact that only a page later the same document noted, “Europe is our principal partner in seeking global and economic security, and will remain so for the foreseeable future,” most observers have interpreted the ‘pivot to the Pacific’ as Washington’s not-so-subtle signalling that Europe has been somehow reduced in US strategic calculations. Simultaneously, European governments remain mired in sovereign debt challenges, plagued by slow growth, and seemingly unable to turn the corner toward fiscal solvency. This has been coupled with growing disillusionment in the US over Europe’s weakness in conducting military operations. The conflict in Libya in 2011 witnessed the US providing limited support to what it insisted should be a Europe-led operation. All of this has resulted in a growing argument that Europe (collectively and in the shape of individual states) is of diminishing utility to the US as a strategic partner. Whether the ‘pivot’ is a revolution or an evolution in American foreign policy or whether Europe’s economic woes are temporary or permanent, the implications for US-European security could be significant, depending upon the issue area, the nature of specific threats, public opinion and leadership priorities. This panel will examine current and emerging security issues in the context of growing doubts in both America and Europe about the state of the transatlantic relationship.

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