Defense of the West
NATO, the European Union and the transatlantic bargain
By Stanley R. Sloan
Book Information
- Format: eBook
- ISBN: 978-1-5261-0577-6
- Published Date: October 2016
Description
This book delivers a clear and balanced interpretive history of transatlantic security relations from the late-1940s to the present day. The author writes in the authoritative and highly readable style that has made his work required reading for policy makers as well as academic experts on and students of International Relations on both sides of the Atlantic. The lively text is also highly accessible for the citizen who wants to develop an understanding of how the United States and Europe came to their current, complex security relationship. The analysis suggests that the democratic principles and shared interests on which NATO and the European Union are based serve as the foundation for 'the West', a term that originated in the Cold War conflict between western democracies and the Soviet Union, but which continues to have meaning today in light of new challenges to Western security.
Reviews
'America's NATO allies are vital for her twenty first-century political and military goals. Sloan's comprehensive study provides rich history, international context, and astute perspectives with which to consider what NATO is today and how it may develop next - all necessary and timely for the US electorate and US President in NATO's sixth decade and beyond. This book will inform and stimulate your understanding of both a successful and challenged NATO alliance.'
Lawrence Chalmer, Former Director of the NATO Orientation Course and Professor Emeritus, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
'For over thirty-five years Stan Sloan has used Harlan Cleveland's concept of the transatlantic bargain with great success in exploring NATO's history. With its emphasis on the problems of the twenty-first century this volume continues his quest. It marks him as the most important American authority in the field of NATO historiography. His book belongs on the shelf of every person interested in the future of the transatlantic relationship.'
Lawrence S. Kaplan, Director Emeritus, Lyman L. Lemnitzer Center for NATO and European Union Studies, Kent State University
'Few people understand NATO better than Stan Sloan. Defense of the West provides a uniquely authoritative account of the alliance's history and the many challenges it must address if it is going to continue to contribute to our collective security.'
Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London
'The book appears to be aimed at a student audience, as demonstrated by the "questions for discussion" at the end of each chapter, but its comprehensiveness makes it almost a NATO Handbook.'
Michael Rühle works in NATO's Emerging Security Challenges Division, Nato review magazine May 2017
'Stanley Sloan's book makes an important contribution to our understanding of NATO, and in doing so, can help us chart our way to its future development more coherently.'
Wing Commander Keith Dear, RAF Centre for Air Power Studies 2017
'Anyone who takes an interest in the future of the Alliance, Europe, and global security will find this book simultaneously thought-provoking and indispensable.'
Sten Rynning, Joint Force Quarterly 90
'One of the most delightful aspects of Defense of the West is its user-friendliness. Sloan provides important appendices, including the text of the North Atlantic Treaty (1949), on which NATO is founded, and the text of NATO's most recent Strategic Concept, the product of the 2010 Lisbon Summit. Sloan also provides discussion questions at the end of each chapter, making the text ideal for international relations or history seminars at the university level, reading groups, or personal study.'
Justin Dell, NAOC
Contents
Foreword by Admiral James G. Stavridis (ret)
Part I: Cold War alliance
1. The bargain and defense of the West
2. Genesis of the bargain
3. The transatlantic bargain revised
4. The bargain through the Cold War, 1954-89
5. The United States and Europe at the end of the Cold War: some fundamental factors
Part II: Post-Cold War alliance
6. The 1990s: transitions and challenges
7. The 2000s: turbulent transatlantic ties
8. The 2010s: new tasks, new traumas
Part III: Defense of the West
9. External threats and internal challenges
10. In defense of the West
Index
Author
Stanley R. Sloan is Visiting Scholar in Political Science at Middlebury College, Vermont and a Non-resident Senior Fellow in the Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council of the United States
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