ABSTRACT
Transatlantic relations are simultaneously fertile and challenging ground for analysis of perceptions and misperceptions. They form one of the most densely institutionalized and strongly networked spaces in world politics and the global political economy, and they contain dynamic and growing exchanges and transactions in the diplomatic, economic, and security spheres. So it is to be expected that within this space, participants in diplomatic, economic, and security interactions will encounter problems arising from the framing, the maintenance, and the adaptation of perceptions, and that these perceptions will at many points run the risk of inaccuracy, error, and consequent recriminations. As with the most intimate of social relationships everywhere, the very intimacy of the relationships guarantees that misunderstandings, disputes, and recriminations will be as frequent as settled relations embodying trust and mutual dependency.
