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EU is ascending power while US power in decline: UK analyst
Note: The Washington Diplomat is a monthly free publication that covers DC's diplomatic community. It always features a grave-faced Ambassador in a tastefully expensive suit on the the cover, numerous photos of diplomats and their bejewelled wives at fancy parties, and lots of ads for very expensive baubles. I read it on the subway. I'll post articles of interest from time to time.
From the Dept. of Wishful Thinking:
After spending five months last year in Washington on a prestigious trans-Atlantic fellowship sponsored by the German Marshall Fund, Mark Leonard developed a historical metaphor to understand and explain American power. Leonard does not compare the United States in the early years of the 21st century with imperial Rome or with the far-flung British empire of the 19th century, but rather with a 1956 Chevy automobile.
A '56 Chevy? That can't be! Hitler never drove a '56 Chevy...
Leonard, a policy analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said that like this vintage car, the United States is formidable but fading.
Okay, he's got my attention. Let's hear it. Why is America formidable but fading?
“American power, sort of like a ’56 Chevy, seems to have passed its prime,” he told The Washington Diplomat. “The components that allowed America to dominate the 20th century are still in place—a strong economy, a powerful popular culture, a big army—but the clumsy way that power has been exercised under President Bush has left it looking isolated, tired, even weak.”
I admit, it was hard to get out of bed this morning. But only 'cos the Redskins beat the Eagles yesterday.
Leonard returned to London from his Washington visit convinced that the European Union’s decentralized organizational structure and shrewd understanding of how to exert its influence in the world make it an important model for other regions to consider.
Ah, but he also returned to London convinced that he needed to promote his new book.
Leonard is a rising star in trans-Atlantic foreign policy circles. Until earlier this year, he was director of the Foreign Policy Centre, a think tank he helped start at the age of 24 with the support of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is now director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform where he analyzes Europe’s relationships with the United States, the Middle East and China. The center is a think tank that is funded by private sector donations. Its operating premise is that European integration is historically important and largely beneficial, but that substantial reforms are needed for the EU to reach its potential.

Leonard believes that the end of the Cold War and the rise of globalization have unleashed three major shifts in global power, all of which can be beneficial to the EU.

* The first power shift comes from countries in the West to those in the East and South, such as China, India and Brazil. These rising nations are searching for models and allies other than the United States.

*The second shift is from a global order organized around states to one that tries to protect individuals from global threats such as genocide and terrorism. “Today’s threats are neither caused by, nor aimed at, states. Today we fear invading armies less than terrorism, global warming or the spread of diseases like AIDS,” Leonard said.

*The third shift is from a global system premised on national power to one defined by regional integration. In Leonard’s view, the European Union is the godfather of regional organizations and its approach to governance is influencing other regional initiatives in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and South Asia. Leonard said the EU should be viewed as a network rather than a state—a network that is being strengthened and expanded by constant negotiation among the member countries. “The EU is a skeletal organization that leaves real power to the states, which are responsible for overseeing and implementing most of the EU’s activities,” he explained. “By building a network of power that binds states together with a market, common institutions and international law rather than a hierarchical nation-state, it is increasingly writing the rules for the 21st century.” Leonard said that Europeans defend international legal norms because the EU is based on an international treaty. “The law is Europe’s weapon of choice in its campaign to reshape the world. Europeans believe the best way to win the war on terror, control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or wipe out organized crime and drugs is to spread the international rule of law,” he said.
Posted by: Seafarious 2005-11-07
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=134318