| This thesis argues that disagreements and/or agreements between transatlantic partners will continue depending on the issue at stake. Both the United States and Europe will manage their relations on a 'pick and choose' basis. This is a process that started in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War and has continued notwithstanding the rise of a new and perceived common threat (i.e. Islamic terrorism). We need to conceptualize the transatlantic relations and the West as part of a dynamic process that started with the collapse of the USSR and that is constantly constructed and re-constructed by European and American values, identities and social practices which ultimately determine their policies. Understanding Euro-American contemporary and future partnerships, and the forces that regulate them, requires being aware of the evolution in the praxis of their relations. This entails challenging the limitedness of "transatlantic relations" and "West" as identifiers of the relationship. We need to set limits and redefine these words (i.e. transatlantic relations and the West), which have become over determined by their usage during the Cold War. By continuing to use these terms to indicate common political, security and economic interests, we are missing how Euro-American divergent policies emerged. |
