The Coming Atlantic Century

Feb 21, 2013 Anne-Marie Slaughter

The pervasive narrative of Western decline and Asia's rise is quickly reversing itself. While the major emerging countries, including those along the Pacific Rim, will continue to grow and prosper, the US will benefit enormously from domestic energy production, and the threat of an EU collapse will be resolved once and for all.

PRINCETON – The United States is rising; Europe is stabilizing; and both are moving closer together. That was the principal message earlier this month at the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC), a high-powered gathering of defense ministers, foreign ministers, senior military officials, parliamentarians, journalists, and national-security experts of every variety.

The participants come primarily from Europe and the US; indeed, when the conference began in 1963, it was focused entirely on NATO members. This year, however, senior government officials from Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Singapore, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia also joined, an important sign of the times.

John McCain, the US senator and 2008 presidential candidate, always leads a large congressional delegation to Munich. The US administration also typically sends the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of State to deliver a ritual speech reassuring the Europeans of the strength of the transatlantic alliance. This year, Vice President Joe Biden did the honors, bumping the US representation up a notch.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 17 Comments on this article

hari naidu May 30, 2013

This lady is of course US centrist-mind and there is no way one can re-educate her at this point in time.

Those of us who follow annual Munich Security Conference understand the focus is finally but slowly moving away from an Atlantic-centrist view of the world...to embrace emerging markets, and mainland China and India, in particular.

Having retired as a global trade and development (EU) expert, I must remind her the next WTO boss will be a Brazilian (BRICS). Times are really changing and US and EU will have to focus on their (own) priorities while watching WTO take on issues which they might not necessarily desire at this international economic and financial cycle.

Mind you US opposed the Brazilian candidate to replace Pascal Lamy.
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Jacque Vilet Mar 14, 2013

She must be smoking funny cigarettes. How anyone can think that U.S. and Europe will become the economic power of the 21st century is not in the real world.

U.S., Europe and Japan are mature markets --- and as consumer demand makes up majority of GDP I don't see how her prediction comes true.

She sounds more like a politican then an economist. Why on earth was this published?
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Ole C G Olesen Mar 4, 2013

Seldom it is to read such nonsense and political rhetoric !
Talking sweet to the sick Auntie
Recent events underline this ...

But ofc the article represents the finest traditions of Mr Brezhinsky :
http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/9709brzezinski.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0465027261/theatlanticmonthA/

and the onslaught on individual and national freedom instituted by Global Megacorporations ... and their OWNERS

I as a European do NOT want to be part of the diabolic imperialistic actions of a megalomaniac and fascistoid USA
only acting for the PROFIT af a few persons ..who already OWN somewhere between 50 to 75 % of all there is to own in this world ... in spite of this STEALING the remaining wealth of citicens ... as we have wittnessed during the later years .... in order to ...DIS-EMPOWER the COMMON PEOPLE !

These Companies :

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world.html

WHO .. are the owners ?
WE KNOW !

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-federal-reserve-cartel-the-eight-families/25080

Curiously above owners of the american dollar also are the majority shareholders in previously mentioned Mega-Corporations.. who own ...THE WORLD !

And their Front-organisations ?
We also KNOW :

http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/03/naming-names-your-real-government.html

The Hudson Institute was not on above list .. here a bit Info on WHO ..the Hudson Institute represents :

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hudson_Institute

I as a European do not want to have the blood of Millions of Innocents on my hands ... as is the case for The UNITED STATES of AMERICA and the MULTINATIONAL MEGACORPORATIONS ...

I have NOTHING in COMMON with these SATANIC ENTITIES !

Geographically and Culturally I as a European have far more in common with RUSSIA and CHINA than a VULGAR and GREEDY MEGALOMANIAC UNITED STATES of AMERICA !

China and Russia are also NOT BANCCRUPT as is the case for the USA where the latter only survives by STEALING the WEALTH of OTHER NATIONS including those of EUROPE
and as a Nation IS the MAIN REASON behind the current European financial Woes .. by DEFRAUDING European Capital into buying WORTHLESS Ameriacan Financial debt instruments

SO ..I say ... NO ... to an "Atlantic Century " .. we already have tried that .. to our DETRIMONY ... I prefer a EURASIAN Century .. which for any EUROPEAN who still can THINK ... is the only future worth considering
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Vamsi D Feb 25, 2013

Ben, Please stop that printing press. I just heard everything is hunky dory there...
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Zsolt Hermann Feb 25, 2013

I really would like to believe in this fairy tale, as if it was true, it would bring good fortune to all, since in today's global, interconnected world if the main engines of growth, development found their direction and fuel again it would propel the whole system with them.
Unfortunately though the fairy tale looks very much like the "Emperor's new clothes", and the truth is the emperor already looks naked if we look at the picture honestly.
The "rising" in the US, and "stabilization" in Europe only happens on paper, and in those high powered meetings, nothing of it is felt on the streets, or in the homes of the actual population living in those countries.
Unemployment, especially youth unemployment is rising, living costs, social inequality is rising, the previous social net supporting the weaker layers is disappearing, the debt burden is burying layer after layer, people in general are more depressed and empty than ever, and there is absolutely no sign of any change from their point of view.
Only the cash flow, the financial infrastructure that is dealt with, but it has very little relevance to people, and it is cosmetic in nature, unable to change the fundamental system crisis.
The significance of the "mighty military force" of the west is also becoming irrelevant in the age of long range missiles, defense shields, remote control drones and virtual warfare, none of the recent western lead wars, putting troops on the ground achieved any meaningful success, in truth they were all failures.
The "newly found energy independence" has only relevance in terms of the over consumption, over production, constant proliferation, exploitative economic model, but this model is unsustainable and is collapsing, in truth for a normal, modern human life we do not need even the fraction of the energy we consume today, thus this hysteria about energy independence will lose its meaning very soon.
In short there is no "coming Atlantic century" for multiple reasons. Most of the "signs" the article is based on are irrelevant, meaningless, moreover the world is a single, interconnected and interdependent network, either all of us pull through, by fundamental changes to our lifestyle and interrelations, mutually working together complementing each other, or we all sink deeper ad deeper into crisis until the suffering will force us to change.
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André Rebentisch Feb 22, 2013

Exactly that phrasing of Mme Clinton was quite alarming. As well as the patronizing tone of Mr. Biden. The phrase "remains" indicates withdrawal in the defense context.
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Robert Upshaw Feb 22, 2013

The growing trade and energy routes are on the Indian and Pacific rim. That's where the action is. R. Kaplan detailed this in his book Monsoon. Europe's position is the weakest of all.

More: http://thepondsofhappenstance.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-hubris-of-europhiles.html
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Avraam Dectis Feb 22, 2013

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"have the largest military force in the world by many multiples"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It should be noted that while these Democracies are well armed, the USA, at least, is reduced to allowing large stalker gangs to openly poison people, some of whom have been openly poisoned for over 15 years while the police and government just watched.

A Democracy that cannot use its millions of men under arms to protect its citizens or arrest its worst criminals is a Democracy in name only. It is really just a figurehead providing a pleasant illusion to cover up the fact that it is really a fractured entity with each splinter operating under rules and penalties that are unwritten and enforced by fear.

See "gang staking" if any of this is news to you.

In the USA, crime pays.
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Procyon Mukherjee Feb 22, 2013

This essay is in sharp contrast to the forging reality that the center of gravity of the world's economic engine is slowly but steadily moving East.

The gas bonanza has not seen gasoline prices move South, which is what the fundamental fallacy is that is yet to be explained, although natural gas prices have continued to move in the downward trajectory.
- Avraam Dectis Feb 22, 2013
  
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  There is conjecture that speculation is artificially supporting energy prices.
  .
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Andrés Vallejo Feb 21, 2013

Buttressing all this optimism is only possible by relegating what should be our most pressing concern to a passing comment: "As an extra bonus, the higher US proportion of gas use has reduced US carbon emissions to 1992 levels." Even this cheer should be handled with care, as this interesting note explains: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/05/1275811/why-claims-about-reductions-of-us-carbon-dioxide-emissions-are-misleading/?mobile=nc
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Paul A. Myers Feb 21, 2013

The US will be completing a transition in Obama's second term from being the biggest dumb government in the world under Bush to a pretty sensible steward of a very strong private-sector dominated US economy. All the job growth in the US since 2009 -- five million jobs -- has been in the private sector. The US has rebalanced towards a more productive economy in a very strong way.

A truly enhanced free trade area with Europe would integrate half the world's economy and probably contribute towards many European countries moving towards a more productive future.

So there are two win-wins out there for Europe: integrate within Europe and integrate across and around the Atlantic.
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Stepan February Feb 21, 2013

There has been lots of cheerleading by the Syndicate recently. First the rise of the robots, now this. Its like our public intellectuals are not the drivers of our destiny but just the headlights illuminating the next few yards of the road.
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Mike Chu Feb 21, 2013

Isn't the West bankrupt and East the creditors? Or, does Biden know something we don't.
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Shane Beck Feb 21, 2013

Demographics say otherwise- both the US and Europe have ageing populations, which do not bode well in welfare states. Of course Russia, China and Japan have the same problem so it will be interesting to see how each nation copes....
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José Luiz Sarmento Ferreira Feb 21, 2013

Maybe so, but the European Union is the only political entity in the World to have made Keynesian economic policies illegal. Member-States can be fined heavily for not inscribing anti-Keynesian rules into their Constitutions. This blatant ideological bias doesn't bode well either for Europe or for its partners.
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Dan Adams Feb 21, 2013

Interesting.
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https://prosyn.org/uP6nm5O

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