Americans and Europeans—Dancing in the Dark: On Our Differences and Affinities

Descrizione

Dennis Bark offers an in-depth examination of the deteriorating relationship between America and Europe: our differences and similarities, the reasons behind our conflicts, and the future of our alliance. He shows that, by learning what our essential difference teaches us about ourselves and drawing on our shared affinities, we might repair our fading relationship.

In the aftermath of the greatest transatlantic crisis in at least 50 years—the U.S.-European split over the war in Iraq—analysts on both sides of the Atlantic have been trying to understand its causes, weigh its importance, and offer suggestions for repairing the breach. Bark is most interested in the social, historical, and cultural factors that divide (and sometimes unite) Europe and the United States. He focuses on the "essential difference" that Europe is run from the "top down" while the United States works from the "bottom up." The idea is not original, but it is presented with exceptional clarity, substantiated by solid evidence and telling anecdotes, and offered without a trace of the caricature that often accompanies sweeping judgments about "Europeans" and "Americans." -- Foreign Affairs

For the past few years Bark has been writing and lecturing on the transatlantic relationship. Here, he points out that the once close relationship between Europe and the US has become strained. Numerous scholars and analysts have attempted to understand the reasons for the split. They stress how to repair the divide or the future of the relationship. Bark, on the other hand, weaves strong evidence with a few pithy anecdotes to focus on the social, historical, and cultural differences that divide Europe and the US. The fundamental difference, according to the author, is that Europe was constructed from the top down, while the US was built from the ground up. The US, therefore, was built by immigrants who were displeased and resented a society that was dominated by the privileged class. Europe was run by the privileged, who had everything to gain by participating in and influencing the affairs of government. Bark articulates this basic premise with clear, concise prose. Those interested in how culture and history shape worldviews will be unable to put the book down. Highly recommended. -- Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries