The Many Self-Delusions Behind the Breakup in Trans-Atlantic Relations

The Many Self-Delusions Behind the Breakup in Trans-Atlantic Relations
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for a bilateral meeting during the Munich Security Conference, Munich, Germany, Feb. 16, 2019 (AP photo by Matthias Schrader).

The Munich Security Conference, which just wrapped up Monday, is like the Davos of trans-Atlantic security policy, replete with hollow pronouncements, cost-free posturing and, of course, gossip. But every once in a while, amid the conference’s bromides, real news happens. In 2007, for instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin used his speech in Munich to publicly declare the return of Cold War-style geopolitical competition.

This year, too, something newsworthy happened at the conference, but newsworthy in the odd sense that something that has been obvious and apparent to everyone was suddenly acknowledged publicly. Like a couple that, after having slowly drifted apart over the years, wakes up one day to realize suddenly that even the pretense of love is gone, the U.S. and Europe discovered this past week in Munich that they’re just not into each other anymore.

For the past two years, this drift has been attributed to President Donald Trump’s disregard for the postwar pillars of U.S. foreign policy, and in particular his hostility toward multilateralism and security alliances. Trump certainly deserves most of the blame for the sudden decline in trans-Atlantic relations. Yet to diagnose what ails the partnership today is to confront the fact that both sides suffer from self-delusions that, if not dispelled, will further widen the divisions bedeviling the alliance.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review