Transatlantic Economic Relations in a Changing Global Political Economy: Achieving Togetherness but Missing the Bus?
| Date | 01 February 2009 |
| Published date | 01 February 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-856x.2008.00351.x |
| Author | Michael Smith |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Transatlantic Economic Relations in
a Changing Global Political Economy:
Achieving Togetherness but Missing
the Bus?
Michael Smith
This article focuses on the changing context for transatlantic relations within the global political
economy. The first part of the article identifies key areas of structural change in the GPE and in
particular the potentially revolutionary shifts caused by global instability and the emergence of new
economic powers. The argument then explores changing patterns of economic relations between the
EU and the US, within a general framework of continuity created by the coexistence of competition
and convergence. These contextual factors are then related to patterns of Atlanticism and transat-
lanticism, to questions of values and identities in the GPE and to the possibility of an EU–US
‘grand strategy’ for the changing GPE. The conclusion argues that although there is perhaps more
secure ground for a sustainable EU–US ‘compact’ than previously, the EU and the US may have
‘missed the bus’ in terms of jointly shaping the future of the global economy.
Keywords: European Union; United States; transatlantic economy
Introduction
Consideration of the transatlantic political economy during the George W. Bush
years has to take account of a number of important contextual factors. In the first
place, the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and 2007 has meant that
more than ever before, the EU–US system in economic matters is now effectively
equivalent to the ‘Euro-American’ or transatlantic system (McGuire and Smith
2008, chs 1–2). Although there are and always will be variations, this is now an
intercontinental relationship in ways that it never was before, with attendant
challenges and opportunities. The emergence of the euro as a fully fledged inter-
national currency, alongside the troubles of the US dollar, has only served to
underline the growth of ‘economic equivalence’ between the EU and the US, as
(partly) predicted by commentators (Bergsten 1997 and 1999; Cohen 2003). At
the same time, this newly enlarged relationship exists against the background of
profound structural change in the global political economy (GPE), in particular
through the emergence of new power centres which have created important new
elements in the calculus of global strategy. The so-called BRIC countries (Brazil,
Russia, India and China) have now become key components in both the function-
ing of the global economy and the pursuit of global governance, and thus cannot be
excluded from consideration of the EU–US relationship. A third factor at the level
of broad context is the growing politicisation and securitisation of economic issues,
The British Journal of
Politics and International Relations
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-856x.2008.00351.x BJPIR: 2009 VOL 11, 94–107
© 2008 The Author.Journal compilation © 2008 Political Studies Association
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