The Atlantic Imperative in an Era of a Global Power Shift

Ever since the phrase “rise of rest” captured the imagination of the public, policymakers and analysts alike have tried to come terms with the full meaning of this global shift in power and its implications for the West. While some have argued that the decline of the West, in relative if not absolute terms, was inevitable, others have rejected the “declinist” theory altogether and applauded the ascent of countries like China, India, and Brazil as a triumph of Western values and economic principles. After all, these emerging countries have based their ascent and rising standards of living on the embrace of the market economy.

This may very well be true. But it is no less true that the world is undergoing fundamental political and economic changes as new powers emerge, new challenges arise, and new threats imperil our security and way of life. Old institutions have come under stress, and new ones that have been set up to better reflect the balance of power of today and tomorrow have yet to prove their problem-solving skills. During the global financial and economic crisis, the old West - the community of North American and European states - painfully learned that its position as the world’s dominant force was increasingly eroding. The West itself is witnessing major social and economic change. And as a long term consequence of the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union, the institutions that have guaranteed its security and prosperity in the past have experienced phases that have fractured their solidarity and cohesion. This is not the time to complacently stand by as others try to impose their norms and values on the transatlantic community. Rather, this is the moment to bond and strike out together, as Daniel Hamilton and Frances Burwell rightly argue. Even though American and European agendas may not (always) coincide, the transatlantic relationship, in the words of former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, is more important than before, simply because the list of challenges to the international order and to the West in particular is both far-reaching and ominous. It includes the rise of China -a development that could spark a new showdown between global superpowers - the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Islamist terrorism, failed states, massive environmental degradation, and transnational migration...