Re-launching the Transatlantic Security Partnership

The relationship between the United States and Europe has gone through a period of unprecedented strain under the two-term tenure of US President George W. Bush. His Administration's instinctive preference for unilateral action and readiness to resort to pre-emptive use of force have proven to be highly controversial, to the point that European Union governments have struggled to find a balance between their traditional support for Washington and their resolve to keep unity within the EU. The US security paradigm shift from territorial defence to protection against asymmetrical threats has impacted profoundly on the transatlantic relationship and US and European leaders have not been able to manage the transformation process in a consistent way. A frank, open and in-depth debate on the distinct US and European security priorities is still needed. This publication is meant as a contribution to such a debate.

Atti della prima edizione del Transatlantic Security Symposium, organizzata a Roma il 12-13 maggio 2008 dallo IAI in cooperazione con lo European Union Institute for Security studies (EU-ISS) di Parigi e il Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) di Washington. Alcuni testi sono stati pubblicati in The International Spectator: Shapiro (n. 3/2008), Dobbins (n. 4/2008) e Wilkinson (n. 4/2008).