ABSTRACT
In the first quarter of a century after World War II, transatlantic relations were one-sided. America was strong, Europe was weak, and this difference characterized every aspect of the relationship economic, military, and political. The US had a seat at the European table, assisted Western Europe by keeping a security umbrella over the continent with its army and nuclear power through NATO, provided economic assistance, and determined the direction of European policy towards integration. After the spectacular reconstruction, unparalleled economic growth and consolidation of Western Europe, transatlantic relations started to change. American Soviet rivalry started losing its heat and the two superpowers' interests met in stabilizing the arms race by signing the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. From the 1960s on, a broad recognition emerged that Pax Americana became obsolete and the world system became characterized by interdependence. The assumption that a united Europe and the United States would evidently conduct parallel policy runs counter to historical experience.
