Transatlantic Relations: A Study in Complementarity
Goh, Dominic
2004
- Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Abstract: Many commentators and policy makers have referred to the complementary nature of transatlantic relations. This paper examines the concept of complementarity in more detail and demonstrates that complementarity can be viewed on four levels: 1. Interpersonal ... read morecomplementarity: Psychological studies have shown that people react to behavioural stimuli in certain fixed ways. For example, friendly behaviour evokes friendliness, and hostility begets hostility. This Interpersonal Principle of Complementarity can be applied to the transatlantic relationship to demonstrate the US needs to treat Europe as an equal if it wants to obtain European assistance. 2. Power-Law complementarity: The US, as the world's leading democracy, needs international legitimacy to act militarily. By working closely with Europe, the US is more likely to find that its actions are viewed as legitimate. 3. Supplemental complementarity: This is what most commentators refer to when they speak of complementarity. The issue is how the US and EU can cooperate by bringing their respective strengths into a particular operation. In most cases, the US will take the lead in the military operation, while the EU will take the lead in the peacekeeping and civil reconstruction phase. 4. Oppositional complementarity: Opposition is not usually thought of when speaking of complementarity. Nevertheless, complementarity can encompass oppositional as well as supplemental relationships. In the transatlantic context, it is important to manage the relationship such that cooperation is maximised, while opposition is minimised. After setting out the conceptual framework, the paper considers several cases since the end of the Cold War to show how the framework might work in practice. The cases considered are Bosnia, Kosovo, the Middle East Peace Process, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The cases demonstrate the validity of the above framework and the continued relevance of NATO as the primary vehicle for promoting transatlantic complementarity. However, as NATO does not include the EU in its formal structures, the paper concludes by showing that there is a growing need for an institutional mechanism to bring together the three key elements of the transatlantic relationship-- the US, the EU and NATO.read less
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- n296x983t
- Component ID:
- tufts:UA015.012.DO.00033
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