Lecture Series - Gerlinde Groitl: From Pax Americana to a Contentious Divorce? The crisis of European-US relations in security policy

From Pax Americana to a Contentious Divorce? The crisis of European-US relations in security policy

The security of Europe has been a transatlantic issue since the founding of NATO in 1949. From a historical perspective, the political involvement of the USA in such an alliance could hardly be considered a given. Ultimately, though, it was the USA that proved to be a long-term, reliable guarantor of security, contributing to the development of a stable European peace order. Even after the end of the Cold War, it proved possible to adapt the transatlantic alliance to new challenges. However, in recent years the relationship has been characterized by contention and friction over the sharing of burdens within NATO, over solidarity within the alliance in the context of the Afghanistan conflict, suitable approaches towards Russia, and the supposedly insufficient competences of the European partners. Donald Trump’s presidency has tested an already strained relationship even further over the past four years. This lecture outlines developments and future perspectives in the transatlantic security partnership, while also discussing current debates with the audience.

Gerlinde Groitl is a lecturer in International Policy and Transatlantic Relations at the University of Regensburg where she also gained her PhD. She has also been a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Washington and at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on US-European and US-German relations, exploring questions of interventionism, world orders and security policy.

For more information on the subject of the lecture, see Gerlinde Groitl’s recent publication: “Die USA und die transatlantischen Beziehungen: Ende einer Ära?“ Handbuch Politik USA. 2nd ed. Ed. Markus B. Siewert, Christian Lammert und Boris Vormann. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2020. 633-43.