ThoughtGallery.org > Venus in trouble: Is Europe running out of power?

Venus in trouble: Is Europe running out of power?

Location: Faculty Library, Vanderbilt Hall, 3rd floor, 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012

At the beginning and under the impression of the Iraq war, the European Union started dreaming of becoming a soft superpower, replacing the US as the world’s policeman with a different style of world leadership. Today, it seems as if European ambitions for a more rule-based international system are vanishing in the face of an increasingly interest-driven foreign policy where securing resources has become the main goal of geo-strategy.  This proves particularly difficult for an institution, which seems not appropriate to deal with hard power and which, in addition, finds itself in the middle of an existential economic and political crisis.

Robert Kagan pointed famously to the unwillingness of the EU – which he compared to planet Venus – to engage with military forces for freedom and security. What about this assessment today? The EU’s military capabilities and achievements have been modest at best, particularly compared to the US and the emerging powers, which – like Asian countries – have doubled or even tripled their defense spending.

Power tops law again, as the world is moving out of a normative consensus; or at least out of a consensus which the former “West” including Europe could largely shape and dominate. The West and in particular Europe, is running out of power, confronted with a number of ever more self-assertive emerging powers like the BRICS.

Defense policy is deeply rooted in national traditions. Despite many efforts – and undeniable some progress – the EU as the world’s only supranational project, has still a long way to go. Could the EU’s lack of state-hood be turned into an advantage in an era, where the notion of national sovereignty is anyway eroding? What is the meaning of geo-strategy in times, where foreign policy is barely more than setting the conditions for trade and securing resources?

But does all of this even matter to America any longer? Or is the US already beyond Europe, as many say?

Ulrike Guérot is a German political scientist and heads the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Affairs. She is also our current visiting scholar and contributes to Deutsches Haus with her weekly blog The Alien Scholar in NYC.

J.H.H. Weiler is European Union Jean Monnet Chair at NYU Law School. He serves as Director of The Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice and The Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law & Justice.

Ambassador Peter Wittig is a German diplomat and is Germany’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In July 2011, Wittig was the President of the UN Security Council.











When: Thu., Jun. 14, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Where: Deutsches Haus at NYU
42 Washington Mews
212-998-8660
Price: Free
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Location: Faculty Library, Vanderbilt Hall, 3rd floor, 40 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012

At the beginning and under the impression of the Iraq war, the European Union started dreaming of becoming a soft superpower, replacing the US as the world’s policeman with a different style of world leadership. Today, it seems as if European ambitions for a more rule-based international system are vanishing in the face of an increasingly interest-driven foreign policy where securing resources has become the main goal of geo-strategy.  This proves particularly difficult for an institution, which seems not appropriate to deal with hard power and which, in addition, finds itself in the middle of an existential economic and political crisis.

Robert Kagan pointed famously to the unwillingness of the EU – which he compared to planet Venus – to engage with military forces for freedom and security. What about this assessment today? The EU’s military capabilities and achievements have been modest at best, particularly compared to the US and the emerging powers, which – like Asian countries – have doubled or even tripled their defense spending.

Power tops law again, as the world is moving out of a normative consensus; or at least out of a consensus which the former “West” including Europe could largely shape and dominate. The West and in particular Europe, is running out of power, confronted with a number of ever more self-assertive emerging powers like the BRICS.

Defense policy is deeply rooted in national traditions. Despite many efforts – and undeniable some progress – the EU as the world’s only supranational project, has still a long way to go. Could the EU’s lack of state-hood be turned into an advantage in an era, where the notion of national sovereignty is anyway eroding? What is the meaning of geo-strategy in times, where foreign policy is barely more than setting the conditions for trade and securing resources?

But does all of this even matter to America any longer? Or is the US already beyond Europe, as many say?

Ulrike Guérot is a German political scientist and heads the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Affairs. She is also our current visiting scholar and contributes to Deutsches Haus with her weekly blog The Alien Scholar in NYC.

J.H.H. Weiler is European Union Jean Monnet Chair at NYU Law School. He serves as Director of The Straus Institute for the Advanced Study of Law & Justice and The Jean Monnet Center for International and Regional Economic Law & Justice.

Ambassador Peter Wittig is a German diplomat and is Germany’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In July 2011, Wittig was the President of the UN Security Council.

Buy tickets/get more info now