Introduction

In the recent past, US foreign policy in general and transatlantic relations in particular have enjoyed much attention. The events of 9/11, the subsequent ‘war on terror,’ and not least the invasion of Iraq and its disastrous aftermath, as well as the battle for Afghanistan and many other geopolitical challenges have greatly increased general and scholarly interest in American foreign policy. Severe European-American disagreements about the Iraq war, international concerns such as Iran's nuclear ambitions, and a good degree of discord over how to overcome the worst global economic slump since the Great Depression once again have turned transatlantic relations into a fertile field of research.