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Judy Dempsey
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 | http://carnegieeurope.eu/
A selection of experts answer a new question
from Judy Dempsey on the foreign and security policy challenges shaping
Europe’s role in the world.Federiga Bindi Senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and director of the Foreign Policy Initiative at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research
First, it depends on who the next U.S. president will be. The race is tight on both sides and a lot can happen: although demographics favor the Democrats, much will depend on whom the Republican Party nominates. At the moment, the leading candidates range from isolationists like Donald Trump to interventionist hawks like Marco Rubio. Some are still adjusting their positions (think Hillary Clinton on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP), while others have a limited record on foreign policy (think Bernie Sanders) or no record at all (like Ben Carson, who thought the Egyptian pyramids were used to store grain).Second, what does “care about Europe” really mean? If it means “continue to pay for European defense,” think again. Although Americans like to regard the United States as the world’s leading superpower, they are increasingly unwilling to pay the costs. If the Europeans want to be taken into consideration, they should fork out their share. The problem is that European citizens are not inclined to pay for more wars.
Last but not least, aside from the photo ops and conviviality, Europe was scarcely relevant in the deals closed by the presidency of Barack Obama, be it on diplomatic ties with Cuba, Iran’s nuclear program, or climate change. If the United States is to care about Europe, Europe has to first care about itself—that is, to stop disintegrating and step up its game.http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/?fa=62655&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonvKXNZKXonjHpfsX57uQsW6Sg38431UFwdcjKPmjr1YIGRcR0aPyQAgobGp5I5FEIQ7XYTLB2t60MWA%3D%3D
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