Le fratture transatlantiche e l'opinione pubblica: continuita e mutamento negli orientamenti del pubblico americano ed europeo
In: Italian Political Science Review: Rivista italiana di scienza politica, Band 35, Heft 1, S. 57-76
ISSN: 0048-8402
The paper analyzes the evolution of public opinion attitudes on transatlantic issues in United States & the European countries. The paper distinguishes two main periods in Transatlantic Relations & examines the evolution of foreign policy attitudes in these two periods. A first period, during the Cold War, was characterized by a foreign policy consensus on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, this consensus was based on the combination of Atlanticism & Europeanism. With different emphasis in the different countries the Atlantic & European choice were seen as crucial to insure the domestic political stability & the foreign policy security. While in Europe the Cold War consensus was first based on a Center-Right coalition & later on extended to the Left, as a consequence of the post-Stalinism & the increasing institutionalization of European integration. In the United States it combined the Liberal & Conservative wings. This consensus broke down as a consequence of the Vietnam war & the detente crisis in the '70s. In Europe, the main consequence was the fracturing of the Left-Right consensus on foreign policy. This double cleavage has been brought forth during the Post-Cold War period & it has manifested itself in its starker way after the 9/11 events & a more unilateralist American foreign policy. The author discusses the different structure of public opinion in Europe ad the United States might have played in the tense relationships between Europe & US during the Iraq war. 4 Tables, 39 References. Adapted from the source document.