Values, identity and ideational shocks in the transatlantic rift

Abstract

The current crisis in transatlantic relations shows an interesting relationship between processes of identity formation and the response to ideational shocks in complex communities with different degrees of consolidation. The United States (US) could adopt a pragmatic approach to the transformation of the existing international order not only because of its relative military and economic power in the post-Cold War system, but also because its international role and the political identity of Americans are not as dependent on its foreign policy as is the case for the European Union (EU). A polity-in-the-making like the EU has constructed all its self-representation on the EU's adherence to a European interpretation of the pillars of the post-World War II international order (multilateralism, embedded liberalism, constitutionalism), the same pillars that the US had strategically wanted and sustained throughout the Cold War but now has abandoned or pragmatically reinterpreted. What the George W Bush Administration has not taken into due consideration are the implications of a foreign policy which is disruptive not just for transatlantic relations but also for the political and cultural cohesion of the US. The article adopts a perspective which combines instrumental rationality with an ideational ontology.