Coming in from the Cold War: Changes in U.S.-European Interactions Since 1980

The early 1980s brought dramatic changes in East-West relations. The decade began with the death of Yugoslavia's Tito, the birth of Poland's Solidarity trade union, and the U.S. election of Ronald Reagan as president. These key developments, together with the growing financial insolvency of the Soviet bloc and shifts in power in the Kremlin-culminating in the election of Mikhail Gorbachev as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985-signalled the end of an era. Since then, U.S. relations with Europe have charted a new course, influenced especially by the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the expansion of NATO, and the growing strength of the European Union. This volume analyzes U.S. relations with Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine, and examines the new role for NATO in the post-Cold War world and the evolving dynamics in the U.S.-EU partnership. Through their assessment of mutual perceptions, evolving interests, and clashing agendas, the contributors offer a fresh and thoughtful exploration of the relationship between the United States and the major European states.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 The United States and Europe: Toward Greater Cooperation or a Historic Parting?-An Idealist Perspective Chapter 2 NATO as a Postmodern Alliance Chapter 3 A Competitive Relationship: The Maturing of the U.S.-EU Relationship, 1980-2000 Chapter 4 A Relationship Both Special and Mundane: The Politics of Power, Party, and Leadership in U.S. -British Relations since 1980 Chapter 5 Renegotiating the Marriage Contract: Franco-American Relations since 1981 Chapter 6 The Impact of Post-Cold War Changes on the U.S.-German Relationship Chapter 7 Coming into Europe: The U.S. -Spanish Relationship since 1980 Chapter 8 From the Cold War to the "Cold Peace": U.S. -Russian Interactions from Gorbachev to the Present Chapter 9 "Let Poland be Poland": The U.S.-Polish Relationship from 1980 to the Present Chapter 10 Ukraine and the U.S. since 1991: The Reshaping of Expectations Chapter 11 The Future of NATO and the Euro-Atlantic Community: Productive Partnerships and Constructive Ends?

About the Author :
Sabrina P. Ramet is professor of political science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Christine Ingebritsen is associate professor of Scandinavian studies at the University of Washington.

Review :
This fresh and thoughtful assessment of the developing relationship between the United States and the principal European nations provides readers with riveting insights as to America's future on the European continent.