Whether Europe Matters
In an open lecture at the Tallinn University of Technology on September 15, United States Ambassador to Estonia Michael C. Polt addressed issues concerning the relevance of Europe and NATO.
In his June 18 op-ed in The Washington Post, “Why Europe No Longer Matters,” Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former director of policy and planning at the US State Department, noted that outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates “may not have been pessimistic enough” when he used his final policy speech to draw attention to “'the real possibility for a dim if not dismal future for the transatlantic alliance.'”
A Two-tiered Alliance
Ambassador Polt addressed Gates’ much-publicized concerns about NATO becoming a “’two-tiered alliance’ that is split between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don’t want to share the risks or the costs.” Polt argued that the organization’s sometimes loud and public disagreements do not make a case for irrelevance, but rather “bear testimony to the continuing strength of the alliance not simply based on realpolitik or pure self-interest. Ours is a value partnership freely entered into by free peoples, a transatlantic bulwark that remains essential…”
“NATO stands today 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact and, is fighting and winning in Afghanistan, and has just helped successfully turn the tide in Libya. I would say that’s a pretty good record for an irrelevant alliance.” Implicit in the arguments of those who see Europe as irrelevant, said Polt, “is the thought that Europe is somehow ‘solved,’ that it is taken care of and has no more European problems.“
While granting that no one believes fighting will again soon erupt in the Alsace, Polt asked, “What about the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia? The continuing tension in the Balkans? What about the regime in Belarus? […] What about a drop in the New York Stock Exchange in response to trouble on the German stock exchange? Just like us, Europe will also never be ‘done.’”
Democracy Trumps Ethnicity
Polt also took on those who would see the world as a zero sum game and equate the rise of China with the decline of America.
While conceding the point that today’s American elites are much more ethnically diverse than they were in mid 1900s, the ambassador argued that the diversity does not necessarily mean the Americans would feel a stronger affinity to Asia or Africa versus Europe.
“A Chinese-American raised in San Francisco has far more in common with an individual from Rakvere [Estonia] or from Manchester, England, than he does with a Chinese individual raised in Beijing. The American and European belief in democracy, individual freedom and open markets transcends ethnic heritage and will continue to bind American motivations and goals throughout the world with Europe.”
America in Decline
The question of Europe’s relevance was re-framed by an audience member to ask whether the United States mattered. “The US is losing its economic and political authority as well as its moral leadership. […] Do you acknowledge the decline in the US position and what is US relevance?”
“I do not believe that the United States has declined. At all. But other people have joined the game,” replied Polt.
Polt drew attention to the state of affairs at the end of WW II where “Europe was in shambles, Britain was broke, and Japan was defeated.” He noted the fact that “a defeated Nazi Germany is today the strongest democratic nation in Europe” is an American success given his country’s critical role in Germany’s development.
“Americans in the end result do best when we have to compete. If we don’t compete we get lazy and dumber and not as capable as we should be. Give us a good challenge and we’ll rise to the occasion.”
“As far as I’m concerned, have at it. Come at us. Challenge us. Make us smarter by being smarter yourselves.”
Scott Diel