Europe After Maastricht American and European Perspectives

During the era following the Second World War world peace was largely assured through American-European cooperation on the political, military, and economic level. This status quo was upset by the ratification of the Treaty on the European Union (Maasttricht Treaty) which will, whatever obstacles still remain, inevitably lead to a closer cooperation among (West) European countries and to a shift in Europes position within world politics. This raises a number of questions such as to what extent and in what way will Europes relationship with America be affected? Will Europe become a fortress? Will NATO continue to function as an alliance dominated by the US? How will the changes in Eastern Europe affect European and American policies? What do these changes mean on a cultural level? These and other issues are discussed by an international team of experts form Europe (East and West), Russia, and the United States.