Disunited, the EU member states can only look on as the international situation deteriorates to their disadvantage because of the crisis in Iraq. The three pillars on which the old order rested–the UN with its rules on collective security, the Atlantic Alliance and the EU–have been seriously shaken. In particular, Europe has been notably absent from the restructuring of the international system, but not because it lacks the means: what is absent is Europe’s will to regain its place in the world. To reach that goal the only solution is to pool its forces; that alone will allow Europe to play its role in a world that becomes more multipolar with each day that passes.
The Disunited States of Europe in Today and Tomorrow's World
The Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 profoundly modified the international scene. Until then the de facto bipolarisation between the USSR and the United States tied their hands somewhat. But today we have only one superpower, the United States of America, the only one now able to impose its views on the emerging great states such as China, Russia, India or Brazil, and this without needing support from Europe. During the Cold War, the Europeans felt they had something to contribute to the world’s stability. And the United States did what was necessary to maintain the make-believe.
Until recently the United States displayed its superiority with prudence and moderation. At the beginning of the Cold War, and true to its concept of non-interference in European affairs, Washington demonstrated wise reserve.
A major change occurred with the fall of the Soviet Union. The balance on which today’s world was built unravelled. The Iraq crisis showed the United States’s superb disdain of the Security Council’s resolutions and total disdain for the rules of collective security which the United Nations was supposed to apply. The result has been a grave blow to international order.
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