Ebook: Old Europe, New Security: Evolution for a Complex World

Many of the US criticisms of Western European reluctance to engage in the 2004 war in Iraq stem from a perception that these governments are 'weak on defense', or unwilling to 'pull their own weight' in the international system. Secretary Rumsfeld pejoratively designated traditional Atlantic Alliance allies as 'Old Europe', to distinguish them from the freshly minted, cooperative states of 'New Europe'. In doing so, Rumsfeld accused 'Old Europe' of yet again relying on the United States to solve shared security problems. This volume critically evaluates the validity of this view of Western Europe choices and policies. It proposes that Western European governments, rather than shirking on defense, instead are expanding the set of tools they have to apply to the post-Cold War array of security and defense problems. Rather than a primary reliance on military force as first line defense, they are developing instruments that rely on economics, diplomacy, even engagement by negotiation for a special relationship or for membership. This volume examines the emergent European security approach from multiple perspectives, in multiple institutions and identities, and in different geographic contexts.