Based on new and existing research by a world-class scholar, this is the first book in twenty years to examine the dynamics of the entire American-West European relationship since 1945. The relationship between the United States and Western Europe has always been crucial and recent events dictate that it is becoming ever more so. In this important new work, Geir Lundestad analyses the balance between the cooperation and conflict which has characterized this relationship in the post-war period. He examines talk of transatlantic drift, and the strain now apparent between the USA and the nation states of Western Europe. In the concluding section, Lundestad offers a topical view of the future of transatlantic interaction. Throughout the work Lundestad's much cited 'empire by invitation' thesis is both put into practice and extended in time and scope. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in one of the most important and enduring international relationships of the last sixty years.

With the end of the Cold War and the prospect of a federal Europe ever closer, this book is a timely reassessment of the processes by which western Europe was reborn out of the devastation and despair of 1945. Concentrating on the first postwar decade and making rich use of the latest research findings, David Ellwood gives a detailed account of the practicalities of reconstruction - how it was done, what it cost, who paid for it, and what those involved hoped for, expected and actually received.

The contributors to this volume examine selected aspects of economic and foreign policy relationships between the United States and Western Europe from historical as well as contemporary perspectives. Topics focused upon include the unsuccessful attempts by the Soviet Union and the Western allies in the 1950s to remedy the division of Germany; the circumstances leading to the 1955 peace treaty between the Soviet Union and Austria; the impact of the Marshall Plan and earlier U.S. aid efforts on the economic recovery of Austria; and the effects of divergent public opinion in Western Europe on the formulation and implementation of contemporary U.S. and NATO security policies. Bruno Kreisky's essay is unique inasmuch as the former chancellor of Austria bases his observations on personal contacts with many world leaders, including U.S. presidents from Truman to Reagan. The contribution by Senator Mathias offers unusual insights derived from his long tenure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This book examines the response of the Western Alliance to the Polish Crisis (1980-83). The author analyses the different views of Europe and the United States regarding enforcement in East-West relations and the opposition in Western Europe to the American approach. This case exemplifies the lasting differences in attitude within the Western Alliance.