Breaking the law of opposite effects: Europe’s Strategic Autonomy and the revived Transatlantic Partnership. Egmont Security Policy Brief No. 140 March 2021.
Journal: Archive of European Integration (AEI) (University of Pittsburgh)
Year: 2021

The post-Cold War transatlantic relations have been marked by something akin to the law of opposite effects. When the relationship is vibrant, Europe’s defence cooperation stagnates. When the relationship is in trouble, Europeans pull themselves together to advance their security and defence interests. During the Clinton presidency, Europeans comfortably outsourced military crisis management in the Balkans to Washington. In contrast, a major transatlantic rift over the Iraq war during the Bush a