EU-US Relations
The nature of global challenges requires a mix of alliances
The return to transatlantic normality by Dr Christina Balis, Director of Services and Products Strategy, QinetiQ Group plc, London
The transatlantic relationship has long ceased to be what it once was. It might be tempting to think that the current crisis in relations between the US and Europe is largely the result of President Donald Trump’s election last year and the emergence of a new ‘America First’ doctrine challenging long-held unity within NATO. Compelling as both might be in the European imagination, they are the logical continuation of a trend long underway, signalling the end of an exceptional period in transatlantic relations.
The end of transatlantic cohesion It was a common refrain, during the time I was deeply involved in transatlantic debates 15 years ago, that despite the occasional disagreements the US-European bond was unshakable because the two sides shared the same fundamental interests and values. Even in the midst of the 2003 Iraq crisis, this belief held strong against the background of an unwinnable coalition war in Afghanistan in solidarity with a shocked America attacked 18 months earlier. However, this view of transatlantic cohesion is becoming increasing difficult to defend. Demographics, geography and political economy shape each side differently and drive different policy choices. Outside the fight against terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, America’s foreign policy interests do not mirror those from across Europe. Our economic philosophies also diverge in many areas, ranging from competition and consumer protection
Dr Christina Balis is director of Services and Products Strategy at QinetiQ Group plc, a leading British defence technology company. Photo: Klaus Dombrosky
and security policy today “Foreign is too complex and multi-faceted to be conducted through specific multinational institutions alone”
to the environment and the role of government and regulation. Populism is correctly seen as a threat by supporters of the liberal world order, but it would be simplistic to regard it as the principal cause for the challenges we face in the West. Populism is nothing new and a recurrent theme across history. It would be naive to assume that once populism has abated, the liberal order can easily be resurrected and the transatlantic bond renewed. Such a view neglects systemic geopolitical transitions, in addition to generational shifts across the Atlantic. Without a doubt, there are plenty of areas where transatlantic cooperation will remain vital. But we are well past the point where a united “West” can lead or formulate common positions on global issues. The diversity of national interests and the nature of global challenges will require reliance on a mix of alliances and organisational constructs.
The decline of NATO’s exceptionalism General Hastings, the first NATO Secretary General, famously stated that the alliance’s goal was ”to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. Since then, there have been recurrent attempts at adaptation to make the case for NATO’s continued relevance. Lord Ismay pithily identified the three actors that for the past century have held, and to a large extent still hold, the key to the balance of Europe. And in the context of today’s antagonism with Russia, it is tempting to see NATO’s renewed relevance confirmed. Yet, the world in which we live is far too complex and requires new terms of reference. NATO can no longer serve as the monolithic security guarantee or an effective tool in protecting the national security interests of its members. NATO will remain an important security forum in Europe, not the defining security institution it has been for the past 65 odd years. Cyber security, to take probably the toughest security challenge facing us today and in the future, is evolving to a systemic threat extending to civil society, governments and commerce – none of which can ever be adequately protected by a construct like NATO. The security challenges beyond Russia are numerous and can only be addressed by varying coalitions of the willing. The future transatlantic security relationship is more likely to be built around a web of bilateral, trilateral and regional ties within and outside the NATO framework – the kind of variable geometry we have already experienced within Europe and are observing in other parts of the world, such as Asia and the Middle East. From the deepening bilateral ties between Germany and the Netherlands and the five-member Nordic organisation known as NORDEFCO to the UK-led nine-nation Joint Expedi-
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