| The Rift Between America and Old Europe: The Distracted Eagle Contributor(s): Merkl, Peter (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0415359864 ISBN-13: 9780415359863 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $52.20 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2005 Annotation: This book explains the opening of the great political rift between America and Old Europe in 2002-03. Following the wave of solidarity with America in 2001, most of America's European allies enthusiastically joined the war in Afghanistan but for some of them enthusiasm soon gave way to pacifist reactions to the American switch from the common war on terrorism to regime change in Iraq, to American rejection of international treaties and to hostility to the UN. The evolution of American foreign policy from earlier multilateralism to the neo-conservative unilateralism of the Bush administration thus arose hostility in some of America's traditional allies, among them France and Germany. French and German public opinion polls, media opinion, and the context of past foreign policy supply the background for this analysis in a year of major parliamentary elections in both countries in 2002. Early in 2003, the Euro-American estrangement led to an open break as Washington plunged ahead, overriding UN and allied support for weapons inspections in Iraq, to launch a blitzkrieg operation against Saddam Hussein. Ultimately The Distracted Eagle analyses how this decision combined with the rejection of Kyoto and other international treaties, all clearly related to the conservative Republican revolution in domestic policies, widened the rift by undermining the role of America as a democratic model. The book ends with a critical assessment of the 2000 presidential elections and its significance for America's leadership abroad. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | International Relations - General - Political Science | Terrorism |
| Dewey: 327.730 |
| LCCN: 2004023978 |
| Series: Contemporary Security Studies (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.53" H x 6.22" W x 9.24" (0.82 lbs) 244 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This new book explains the recent rift between America and some of her oldest European allies, especially with Germany and France. Particular attention is devoted to the several competing interpretations of the Euro-American rift, for example, that Europeans were taken aback when American neo-conservative leaders scornfully rejected their well-meant offers of post-9/11 assistance with expressions of disdain for the allies' backward military technology and budgets. The Bush administration's rejection of the Kyoto Treaty, its environmental stance and its position on international treaties are also examined in detail. Merkl's interpretation emphasizes America's neo-imperial, unilateralist posture and policies as contrasted to the Wilsonian internationalism that created the United Nations and established international rule of law backed up by the Security Council, a web of international treaties and international courts, including the International Court of Criminal Justice. Today's American leaders thus oppose European champions of an American-initiated international order while identifying themselves with the imperialist European doctrines and practices of another age.
|