Is the Transatlantic Century Over?

On the 9th of June 2015, Joseph Nye stood on the stage of the Old Theatre at the London School of Economics and spoke about his latest book, “Is the American Century Over?” He expounded on his argument about why America still matters and will continue to do so, in a world where new economic powers have emerged and grown to become equal partners with the West in some areas of the international political arena. Given the outmost import that the longstanding  relationship between Europe and the U.S. has for shaping them as international actors, any argument considering closely American longevity on the international stage would have direct implications for Europe’s role in global politics and, by extension also on the future of the transatlantic relationship. In his book, Nye considers Europe alongside other states in relation to the US, aiming to assess the potential that the old continent would have to threaten American’s position in the world. He concludes that, when we focus our attention on the role of material factors in determining future global  leadership, Europe poses no risk for the US. Moreover, Europe’s position relative to North America is assumed to be “weak” at present and with few prospects for change in the coming 40 years.

Dahrendorf Policy Brief 4/2015
Is the Transatlantic Century Over?

by Cora Lacatus (2015)

Cora Lacatus is the Research Associate of the Working Group Europe and North America housed at the LSE as part of the Dahrendorf Symposium Program.