Evolution of Transatlantic Relations: Key Developments, Challenges, and Dynamics from the Cold War to the Early 21st Century

Eman Mohammed

08 Dec 2024 • 14 min read

Institutionalization of US-EU Relations (1949-1957)

The year between 1949 and 1957, USA-Eu relations were influenced by the Truman doctrine and the Marshall plan and NATO. United States wanted to protect European countries from soviet threat and the expansion of communism. Therefore, the United States implemented the Truman doctrine and the Marshall plan and provided military and financial assistance to countries which are against the soviet bloc. Marshall plan is an American initiated program in 1948 to help western Europe economically and protect it from soviet threat. It provided economic aid to support the state’s agricultural and industrial productivity. Turkey was also one of the countries under American Truman doctrine and marshal program. However, there was no much aid coming from USA besides some agricultural products.

Strategically USA helped European integration through pushing in the direction of integration of Europe, insisting on reconstruction and equality of western Germany on European affairs, and us promoting through arbitration of wars. USA needed the integration of Europe because of the threat of soviet, while protecting its hegemony and keep this integration work under the interest of trans-Atlantic framework. Germany was a problem for the integration of USA of Europe and Britain tried to protect it since France was also paralyzed at that time. In 1949 franco- American agreement was made in which France accepted the independence of west Germany. For centuries Europe great powers used to control the world economy however after 1945 Italy and Germany were defeated, Britain was on the brink of bankruptcy and France was also out of favor because of its war record. Thus, USA and USSR were the 2 great powers.

Most of the initiatives to create NATO were made in Europe instead of the USA. The first problem of USSR was not American capitalism but British imperialism. However, in 1946 United states and British policies became more unified. Considering western Europe would not survive by its own, informal relations had taken place between England and united states. France de Gaulle was pleased by US intervention and existence in European countries. However, he was skeptical of the US. he supported Marshall plan and there was sympathy towards united states. While other countries like Greece and turkey were not allowed to join NATO and United Kingdom and united states were skeptical of Italy but Expansion of NATO was still taking place. Economically the Atlantic framework was formed by OEC which later became OECD. Militaristically security defense was established in 1940s and it is named transatlantic because it involves a pluralistic security community. United states were the only country with atomic bomb until 1948. United States planned a design to control European countries military spending. The Korean war between 1950 and 1953 also changed some of the narratives. Turkey became a member of NATO after proving its military power by sending aid to this war. EU countries and US have major similarities and common ideologies like democracy, liberalism, and freedom even though they are different nations.

US-EU Cooperation and Conflict (1957-1961)

Developments between US and EU in 1957 and 61 was functionalized in 3 different phases. The first one is the military phase in which a strong and effective alliance had been vital element. Thus, many military aids given, and military bases were constructed in different states. United States supported united kingdom’s nuclear program and provided nuclear weapons. Mutual defense agreement was made between united states and Britain in 1958 in which United States gave UK access to its nuclear program and supported its development. however, this was not welcomed by France and France started its own nuclear program and had a negative stance regarding NATO. Its economic phase was concentrated on strengthening Europe’s economy and cooperation. The European Economic Community was formed in 1957. United states was supporting the formation of EEC under integration of Europe and supporting its economic development. there was increasing US investment in Europe and it was a market for Europe’s product. The third phase was a socio-cultural phase in which good relation and cooperation were constructed between the two parties.

1958 was the war between France and Algeria. United States provided military support to France and also used France to prevent the expansion of soviet union in the Arab world. The other famous development in this period is the construction of berlin wall in 1961 between communist east Germany and western Germany. This created the division between the west and east world and also became one of important symbol of cold war.

Cuban missile crisis: it came out in 1961 where the two poles were in a close escalation and the world was under nuclear war threat. Soviet Union constructed a military base in Cuba and united states in turkey. Kennedy administration and Nikita Khrushchev were the two important state actors and Nikita requested the removal of us military base from turkey in order for soviet to remove from Cuba. In October 28 1961 the military bases were removed from the two countries and a détente period started were there was a nuclear balance and relative peace in the following years.

US Challenges: European and Beyond (1961-1972)

United states first came to United Kingdom invited to share an idea with the case of Ussr but later US became the real enemy of USSR. While France with the arrival of de Gaulle, French opposition towards United States increased. Kennedys visit to other European countries excluding French in 1963 was seen as challenge and response. France retaliates by concluding United kingdom’s membership in EEC but did not surpass the franco-German deal. France still wanted to be NATO member and did not oppose the existence of American troops in some countries. It also supported the nuclear aid United States gave to Europe. However external factors like Vietnam war increased skepticism and France become pioneer for other European countries to arouse their skepticism as well.

France wanted colonial defense policy to be one of the policies of NATOs policy, but this was not welcomed by other member countries. A group was formed by 6 members of EEC aiming to develop a union of state. De Gaulle wanted it to be pure European, so he did not want United Kingdom to be member of EEC because UK keeps the interest of united states. However United States supported United kingdom’s membership in EEC. France and Britain created multilateral force to support Germany and Italy without giving Germany a direct access to nuclear force. Thus, to support multi-dimensional force that could strengthen the transatlantic framework. In 1961 the Berlin wall established representing division. France made its own nuclear force in 1960s. France was at the same time fighting with Algeria; thus, it gets weakened and its citizens were protesting against de Gaulle. Nevertheless, de Gaulle got chosen and came to power again in 1965. France military withdraws from NATO but still they tried to give a positive image to NATO. The economic growth of France on international politics was aiming to weaken IMF because it was dominated by United states.

Kennedy administration supported European integration and the EEC as well because the creation of US and EECs multilateral force propagates a trade and economic relation that could fulfill both parties’ interest. In 1968 President Nixon and his vice Kissinger came to power and they pursued a policy which is less interested in European integration than it was during Kennedy’s administration.

Vietnam war

It was a war between South Vietnam under United States and North Vietnam under Communist government during the cold war. European countries were not supportive of this war and thought they would be better off if they do not intervene in south east affairs. United states started the More Flag campaign in 1964 to gain more West European’s support but European countries though NATO’s participation will damage its counsel objectives. Under a normal condition, Atlantic allies should have joined when a country went to war but this wasn’t the case in Vietnam war since it was an “out of area” inclusion. North Atlantic ministerial meeting was held to send help to South Vietnam but only Portugal and Greece were supportive of this plan. Other memeber countries were also worried from chineese intervention in the region.

Europes NATO’s perspective has changed after this war. US relations with third world countries was degrading Europe’s security especially agaist the Sovyet Union. Thus, De gaulle proposed a neutral europe approach. This also influence American’s Public opinion and Jhonson himself did not want the americanization of the war, For the long run.

Diverging and Converging US-EU Strategies (1973-1983)

An external factors like Vietnam war had changed the narrative but European countries gave a diplomatic support to united states during the war even though they did not approve the war. After jimmy carter came to power, he criticized Nixon’s movement with soviet and Russia at the expense of its loyal ally countries like western Europe and Japan. Carter started to strengthen in creating and reinforcing US relation with EU and especially Japan. It was known as a silent decade. There was a nuclear balance. However, when Reagan came to power, he believed America is great power and wanted to reflect this to ally countries and American citizens as well. He kept America’s democratic and peacekeeper image which was dwindled during Nixon and Kissinger period. United Kingdom still continue scrutinizing and criticizing United States but they still managed to sustain a good relationship. Cooperation between Margaret Thatcher and Reagan became popular to the extent they were called political soulmates. European Socialists and Social Democrats were not welcomed under Reagan’s anti-communist doctrine. Anti-Communist doctrine is freedom charters giving economic aid to third world countries. United states even supported marginal Islamic groups to fight against communism. Reagans interest in third world countries were also followed by other European countries. United States economy started to fall and its aid and budget started to decrease and even shifted to a debtor country from being a donor for a long time. Reagan then created a new trend of nationalism in the country and economic productivity showed some growth, but deficit was still a problem.

public opinion in united states decrease regarding the usage of troops in western Germany to fight against soviet Union and Us citizen were not willing to support EU in any kind of military activity. At the same time West Germany was the highest supporter of united states in all Europe. Western Germany was committed to NATO even though it wanted the unification of Germany. Italy was also in the same position as Western Germany. Whereas Washington was under pressure to increase military base in Greek and Spain. Turkey at that time was against the propagation of American’s base and personnels in southern border of Turkey.

Transatlantic Relations in the Post-Cold War Era (1990s)

Significant changes happened during those years 10 year and this could be analyzed under economic developments and NATO’s and EU’s enlargement.

Economical developments:

Between the United States and the Soviet Union, there was an ideological and political struggle known as the Cold War, which lasted from 1947 to 1991. The relationship between the United States and European nations underwent significant changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whereas economically, the transatlantic market had a prominent movement and yield compared to other markets. Europe started hosting different prosperous countries' investments. Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India, and China were also other countries that reached a growth peak during this period. The economic ties between the US and EU have been a major component of transatlantic relations since the end of the Cold War. Following the Cold War, the US and EU believed that as their economic and commercial ties grew, the security of their transatlantic alliances would also grow simultaneously. As a result, Leon Brittan, a member of the European Commission, spearheaded the efforts that led to the signing of a bilateral competition agreement between the USA and the EU in 1991. The deal attempted to stop an economic conflict between the US and the EU. GAAD transformed into a World Trade Organization in 1995. It resolved disputes between the USA and the EU regarding trade and agriculture. WTO was a pro-trade and trade volume between the US and European countries has increased including investments and cooperation projects.

NATO Enlargement:

The main focal point of the 90s was the EU and NATO’s enlargement. The barrier between west and the east dissolved as NATO got enlarged. The US-European relationship has been significantly impacted by NATO's change. NATO continued to rise, extending mission areas adopting eastern European countries by creating a NATO zone. Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and other eastern European countries preferred integration with the west to guarantee that they will not be dominated by Russia. Later, NATO had a partnership for peace agreement with these countries in 1994. In the years following the Cold War, NATO focused on a wide range of cooperation in addition to military defense. NATO had been concentrated on Soviet threat defense throughout the Cold War. The conclusion of the Cold War, however, saw the emergence of fresh security risks like terrorism, regional peace, and weapon proliferation. The security policies between the USA and Europe underwent a change as NATO began to adapt its definition of security and new strategies in response to these new threats. NATO's agenda included topics like crisis management, peacekeeping operations, counterterrorism, and cyber security. The United States and European nations continued their cooperation in these areas as well.

USA-EU Cooperation and Conflict: The Clinton Administration and the Yugoslav Wars

The relations between the USA and the EU during the Clinton Administration could be analysed by focusing on the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War.

Bosnia Yugoslavia war started in 1992 and the main cooperation of US and EU has been the recognition of Bosnia Herzegovina as an independent state. USA and European states has a collective identity with regular common norms like liberalism, human rights and freedom. This has been reflected in this situation in which the USA and Europe cooperate regarding human rights no matter how different their strategies were. The situations contrary to the morality of war experienced during the Bosnian War and the torture and persecution of the civilian population in Kosovo enabled the USA and the EU to meet under a common roof. Both sides assisted in humanitarian operations and worked to ensure the safety of the civilian population. Primarily Europe and Us did not want to interfere in bosnia war but later ‘Lift and Strike’ policy was enacted and United States became active in the matter. The policy was to lift the Bosnian Muslims with different supplies and to strike the Serb aggressors if they came against to this policy.

Europe followed a diplomatic approach to end the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War. However a massacre of 80,000 muslims led to the support of British and France on US’s leadership in the matter. The USA and the EU participated in the negotiations together and supported the peace process. In particular, the Dayton Agreement was accepted as a diplomatic victory as a result of the joint efforts of the USA and EU. Moreover, NATO intervention in the Kosovo War is one of the most important areas of cooperation between the USA and EU. NATO opposed the genocide against the civilian population in Kosovo and took action and organized military operations. The USA and the EU supported these operations together and both made diplomatic moves in support of Kosovo's independence.

In conclusion, although there were times when the USA and EU cooperated, there were also times when they disagreed. First, during the two Yugoslav conflicts, the US and EU adopted several policies. The EU strategy tended to favor diplomatic and non-violent resolutions, whilst the USA adopted a more interventionist stance. However, after the massacre, they were able to reach an understanding. Additionally, many different opinions on NATO operation were advanced by EU members during the two Yugoslav wars. While some EU nations have showed limited support in NATO missions, others have provided more active support.

Transatlantic Rapprochement and Drift: U.S.-EU Relations in the 2000s

One of the reasons for the transatlantic drift between the USA and the European Union is the events of September 11 and the Iraq War that followed. Focusing on the war against terrorism after the September 11 attacks, the USA advocated that the regime in Iraq should be overthrown and that the war on terrorism should be intervened in because it is a threat for world peace. At the same time, the proliferation of WMDs and the rise in terrorism activity, in the commonly held US perspective, make the modern era desperate. The USA and Europe did not see the same threat at this stage. Europe does not have a duty to ensure global security because it does not view weapons of mass destruction as being as dangerous as the United States does. Unless it is threatened directly, Europe ignores the fact that this issue justifies the use of force. Following the September 11 attacks, the USA invoked NATO's Fifth Article to justify its action. Iraq was viewed as the major enemy. According to the new National Security Strategy of the USA, which was unveiled by US President Bush on September 17, 2002, the USA's power, influence, and economic clout are at an unprecedented level, and it is the country's duty to preserve the balance of power in the world. The security of the United States and its allies is also threatened by the spread of WMDs through terrorism. It is also the responsibility of the United States to take action in this regard. However, not all Europeans showed the expected support for the case when the United States sought to win international cooperation in the battle against terrorism.

Other European nations than Britain expressed opposition to a military invasion of Iraq following the US engagement in Afghanistan. Different political stances on this topic prevented the European States from reaching a consensus, and nations like Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark proclaimed their support for the USA. The USA's confidence has been damaged by the European Union's divergent views on this matter. Adopting a uniform concept of strategic objectives has become challenging as a result. While the Bush administration argued that there was a threat from weapons of mass destruction, Europeans acknowledged this threat but believed that it could be managed. The majority of EU nations believe that in order for the use of force against Iraq to be legal, a resolution from the UN General Council is required. The United States claims that since it is a question of self-defense, compliance with such a decision is not required. The US believed that Iraq had an authoritarian dictatorship and that human rights were being abused. In this regard, the US believed that regime transition was essential and that it freed a country from an unstable and unjust government. Contrarily, Europeans tended to view sovereign states as legitimate, regardless of the regime. The US unilateral attack on a sovereign state and intervention in the regime was seen as illegitimate by many Europeans.

After 9/11, the US's international and national security strategies underwent significant modifications. The USA has transitioned from multilateral to unilateral policy. The end of the Soviet threat marked the beginning of a growing strategic divide between the USA and the EU. The 2004 EU expansion had a unifying impact on the continent of Europe, but the Iraq crisis brought about divides once more, and this circumstance caused a trust issue in the nations that joined the EU. With this crisis, it became clear that the EU, which was split in two in terms of foreign policy, lacked the tools needed to establish a unified defense strategy. The European Security Strategy, states that collaboration between the EU and the USA is crucial for preserving global security. At the same time, it was highlighted that using force should not be chosen over diplomatic and negotiating processes.

Continuity and Change in Transatlantic Relations: Bush, Obama, and Trump Eras

Coming to power in 2007 Barack Obama was a democrat who supported the enlargement of NATO. Nevertheless, he was also a strong ally of European nations. US and EU had some disagreements on several issues during Obama region. Such as Crimean Extension which EU wanted to apply strong embargo on Russia but US contradicted this. On the case of the middle east specifically on Arab Israel conflict, US supported Israel whereas Europe stood for recognition of palestine. Whereas they had the same attitude towards some issues. Both US and EU wanted Iran nuclear program to be used only for peaceful process and launched the P5+1 process.

Al Qaeda reached its peak during obama reign and thus Obama wanted to rebuild relation with illiberal countries. He searched for a new collaboration against terrorism in middle east, Asia and Europe through NATO. “Cooperative reality” was his policy to blend realism with liberalism. His collaboration with authoritarian states for the sake of security made him a realist while his preference for collaboration made him liberal.

Thus obama’s change ad similarities from it predecessor bush can be listed as follow:

Obama wanted to share military and other security responsibilities with international organizations because it was a burden only on USA. Whereas bush has more of a centralized decision making system.
Bush had deteriorated the image of US through his actions in Iraq whereas Obama constructed this image and promised to end the war in Iraq.
Obama strengthened multilateral diplomacy and the transatlantic alliance.
Obama had a different approach to Russia, a more comprehensive strategy.
EU had immense importance in USA policy both obama and bush reign.
They both supported NATO enlargement.

Trump was mostly focused on closed protectionist policies and was more of a populist leader. Many agreements struck in the past by former US presidents, including Barack Obama, were revoked by him. In foreign trade, he created protectionist measures. He sparked trade conflicts by raising customs taxes. The tax cuts it implemented most significantly impacted businesses. With a $3.1 trillion budget deficit in 2020, it was the biggest deficit in American history. Despite the protests of America's traditional allies, Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Trump excelled at using populist slogans like "America First." It also withdrew from agreements like the Paris Agreement, UNEP, and p5+1 Agreement. The United States, Canada, and Mexico's trilateral trade deal (USMCA) was renegotiated by him.

Thus obama’s change ad similarities from it successor Trump can be listed as follow:

Obama tried to strengthen transatlantic and transpacific trade relation and made these two mega projects whereas Trump did not ratify them during his office time.
Obama dealt closely to EU and had tremendous developments regarding trade barriers, and resource collaboration however, Trump created a protectionist measure in foreign trade.
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(T-TIP) was designed during obama period but again did not get ratified during Trump administration.
The Obama administration paid attention to the issue of climate, while Trump administration did not and even withdrew from the Paris climate agreement.