ABSTRACT
The phrase “Atlantic community” has become such a familiar part of our political rhetoric that we rarely question either its meaning or the purpose it serves. The phrase itself suggests shared goals, family values, mutually rewarding benefi ts and responsibilities. It lies at the foundations of our mental maps of the world and of the role that we play in that world. Within these mental maps, the waters between Europe and North America have come to be seen as a bridge rather than a barrier between the two parts of a common homeland.
