CrisesResp in Transatl Relati

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

This course will examine a series of both historical and current cases of the causes and policy responses to a series of key issues in the transatlantic relationship. The purpose is to put the current relationship into a larger context. The approach combines cases from the Cold War with those from the post Cold War period in order to identify both continuity and change in the key challenges facing the transatlantic relationship. Using a combination of lectures, case studies and scenario exercises, the course analyzes such recurring issues as the nature or European security, the role of nuclear weapons and of NATO, the changing Russian challenge, the Franco-German relationship, divergence in economic policy, Turkey and Europe, Britain’s ambivalence on Europe and its Special Relationship with the United States, dealing with out of area conflicts, the China challenge and the meaning of Atlanticism and the idea of the West. It will also examine the role of leaders and strategic cultures in transatlantic relations. The transatlantic relationship is at a crucial pivot point given the challenges posed by the Trump approach to alliances and to Europe in particular as well as the shift of American strategic concerns toward Asia. An examination of a variety of cases stretching over a long period of time will help the student to come to some analytic conclusions about the nature of the current set of crises and ways to deal with them. It will provide students with an understanding of the political and strategic cultures which underlie the transatlantic relationship, including an analysis of the impact of key leaders on that relationship. It will also provide students with an introduction to the use of future scenarios in political analysis.