Atlanticism without the Wall: Transatlantic Co-Operation and the Transformation of Europe
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209104600107 |
| Author | Robert Wolfe |
| Published date | 01 March 1991 |
| Date | 01 March 1991 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ROBERT
WOLFE
Atlanticism
without
the
Wall:
transatlantic
co-operation
and
the
transformation
of
Europe
In
December
1989,
in
the
midst
of
the
most
extraordinary
few
months
in
European
life
in
four
decades,
the
United
States
secretary
of
state,
James
Baker,
went
to
Berlin
to
speak
about
a
'new
era
for
Europe.'
Baker
evoked
the
now-familiar
image
of
a
'new
architecture'
whose
purpose
would
be
first
to
overcome
the
division
of
Europe
and
second
to
'bridge
the
Atlantic
Ocean'
as
'America's
security
-
politically, militarily,
and
economically
-
remains
linked
to
Europe's
security.'
He
concluded
with
a
vision
of
the creation
of
'a
New
Europe
on
the
basis
of
a
new
Atlan-
ticism."
In
that
speech
Baker
was
suggesting
how
Canada and
the
United
States
should
respond
to
one
aspect
of
the
changing
global
context:
the
transformation of
Europe.
There
are
two
symbols
of
this
transformation;
one
is
the
whole
complex
of
processes
we
call
1992,
and the
other
is
the
collapse
of
the
Berlin
Wall
in
the
autumn
of
1989.
Important
as
these
events
are,
there
is
no
reason
why
either
must
necessarily
lead
to
a
transformation
External
Affairs
and International
Trade
Canada;
Foreign
Service
Visitor,
Cen-
tre
for
International
Relations,
Queen's
University,
Kingston,
Ontario.
It
is
a
pleasure
to
record
my
thanks
to
Michael
Hawes,
Jackie
Duffin,
David
Haglund,
Rod
Macdonald, and
Charles
Pentland
who
have
read
the
paper,
and
to
participants
in
the
May
199o
workshop,
none
of
whom
bears
any
responsi-
bility
for
what
I
have
done
with
their
helpful
suggestions.
The
views
expressed
in
this
paper
should
not
be
taken to represent
the
policy
of
the
Government
of
Canada.
i
James A.
Baker,
'A
new
Europe, a
new
Atlanticism:
architecture for
a
new era,'
speech
made
in
Berlin
on
12
December
1989:
see
Vital
Speeches
of
the
Day
56(15
January
199o).
International
Journal
XLVI
winter
199o-I
138
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
of
Europe's
transatlantic
relations,
but
there
has
nevertheless
been
incessant
discussion
of
the need
for
North
America
to
remain
involved
in
Europe.
Baker
used
'Atlanticism'
as
if
it
were
a
term
that
all
would
understand,
and,
whatever
Atlanticism
is,
he
thought
that
a
new
version
was
both
possible
and
desirable.
It
is
my
contention
that
a
new
Atlanticism
is
not
needed,
although,
as
with
any
social
institution,
the
one
we
have
should
never
be
taken
for
granted.
Institutions
are
not
simply
formal
organizations
with
treaties
and
buildings;
they
also
encompass
the
social
practices
and
conventions
that
underlie
the organiza-
tions.2
As
an
institution,
Atlanticism
is
an
organizing
principle
that
helps
us
to
see
a
pattern
in
a
set
of
shared
expectations
among
the
participating
countries.
Explanations
of
co-operation
among
the
north
Atlantic
coun-
tries
often
stress
the
importance
of
American
hegemony
or
the
perception
of
threat
(that
is,
the
fear
of
war
with
the
Soviet
Union),
or
both.
Another
type
of
explanation
holds
that
insti-
tutions
shape
outcomes
in
world
politics.
The
framework
employed
in
this
paper
depends
on
integration
theory and
lib-
eral
institutionalism,
themselves
largely
focussed
on institution-
building
among the countries
of
the
north
Atlantic
since
the
end
of
the
Second
World
War.
3
There
has
been
a
never-ending
series
of
suggestions from
the
great
and the
good,
from
scholars
and
politicians,
on
how
co-operation among
states
might
be
organized
within
the
north
Atlantic
area.
These
efforts
have
influenced
not
only
the
rhetoric of
policy-makers,
but
also
the
intellectual
framework
in
which
scholars
understand
what
poli-
cy-makers
are
saying.
This
is
the
enduring
problematique
of
Atlanticism.
2
Discerning
readers
might detect
an
implicit
'Foucauldian' tone
in my
argument.
For
an
attempt
to
use
Foucault
explicitly,
see
James
F.
Keeley,
'Towards
a
Foucauldian
analysis
of
regimes,'
International
Organization
44(winter
199o),
83-105.
3
See
Charles
C.
Pentland,
'Integration, interdependence,
and
institutions:
approaches
to
international
order,'
in
David
G.
Haglund
and
Michael
K.
Hawes,
eds,
World
Politics:
Power,
Interdependence
and
Dependence
(Toronto:
Harcourt
Brace
Jovanovich
199o),
173-96.
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