American Attitudes on European Political Integration -- The Nixon-Kissinger Legacy

This paper concentrates on the Nixon-Kissinger view of European political integration. In contrast with the mainstream position of the American Administrations during the 1950s and 1960s, Kissinger was convinced that by encouraging European unity, the United States was in fact creating its own rival. The start of a new system of European foreign policy cooperation in 1970 was seen by Kissinger as a particularly important example of the European attempt to challenge American hegemony. Kissinger emphasized the need to maintain Western Europe in a subordinate role. Three main lines of action were pursued to keep the development of the European Community under control: maintaining bilateral contacts with key European allies, requesting a seat at the Community's decision-making table, and linking obedient European behavior to American military presence in Europe. The legacy of this policy still seems to influence current American policy vis-à-vis the European Union. The Nixon-Kissinger term was, however, detrimental to rather than conducive of creating harmonious transatlantic relations. Current tendencies to emulate it should therefore be discouraged.