The question of burden sharing has always been important in NATO with an acute relevance today as the US will cut its defence budget over a ten-year period and is no longer automatically willing to lead military operations. This volume considers Europe's role in political force for the future exploring eight European case studies.

Provides an interpretive history of the trans-atlantic alliance and explores critical developments in US European relations. The author considers the ongoing pattern of US unilateralism and its consequences as the trans-atlantic and intra-European debate over Iraq produced deep splits among the allies and eroded European trust in US leadership.

The Limits of Alliance surveys the security policies of the states in North and Central Europe in the context of a declining North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the emerging European Security and Defense Policy. It analyzes U.S. policy toward the region and examines the continued viability of alignments inherited from the Cold War era. It concludes that although NATO will continue to exist in the coming decade, the hollowing-out of the alliance will be accompanied by a shift in transatlantic security relations toward bilateralism determined by regional security considerations.

Examines the role of the U.S. in NATO. The author finds the sources of many current problems and singles out two basic weaknesses: the failure of the European NATO Allies to form a European defense community, and the parallel U.S. decision to rest NATO's defense on U.S. nuclear forces. Suggests some directions for NATO strategy, force posture, arms control policies, and East-West relations. Photos, tables and figures. Glossary. Index.

The emergence of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) in the last two-thirds of the 1990s and continuing into the new century, has been a complex process intertwining politics, economics, national cultures, and numerous institutions. This book provides an essential background for understanding how security issues as between NATO and the European Union are being posed for the early part of the 21st century, including the new circumstances following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. This study should be of interest to those interested in the evolution of U.S.-European relations, especially in, but not limited to, the security field; the development of institutional relationships; and key choices that lie ahead in regard to these critical arrangements.

Kaplan, a NATO scholar and professor of history, analyzes the challenges the organization faces in the 1990s, arguing that the alliance is still essential for a stable Europe and that it is incumbent on the US to maintain its NATO troop strength. Includes texts of the Brussels Pact, the North Atlantic Treaty, and various related agreements, and a chronology. Paper edition (9221-X), $16.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

At the EU's Helsinki summit in 1999, European leaders took a decisive step toward the development of a new Common European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) aimed at giving the EU a stronger role in international affairs backed by a credible military force. This report analyzes the processes leading to the ESDP by examining why and how this new European consensus came about. It touches upon the controversies and challenges that still lie ahead. What are the national interests and driving forces behind it, and what steps need to be taken to realize Europe's ambitions to achieve a workable European crisis mgmt. capability?