ABSTRACT
Where does this all leave Europe? The time to be geopolitically and geoeconomically naive is over now. No longer can the European nations just rely on the US to defend their geopolitical and geoeconomic interests and values ad infinitum. Although the US will remain Europe’s primary partner in today’s world, in some respects their interests may differ, and this should be duly acknowledged. On some key values especially, there is a potential gap between the US and Europe as we envisage it. Above, we spoke of two Americas: ‘America First’ and ‘Global America.’ From the viewpoint of a reorientation of the (global) economy toward regenerativity and inclusivity, the second is certainly more promising, but even here the ‘winner takes all’ mentality may create a strong long-term backlash. Given the long-term uncertainty about which America (if either: a constant wobbling between the two and a stalemate remains an option as well) will prevail, Europe has to take its own position as one pole in the multipolar world in cooperation with the US, as its preferred partner, based on shared values like human dignity and freedom. But Europe has to take some distance as well as long as the US asserts itself as the cornerstone of an economic system that is unsustainable and untenable in the long run and as long as it aspires to play a role that doesn’t fully acknowledge the new realities of a multipolar world.
