Everything about Atlanticism totally explained
» For the belief in the legendary island civilization, see: Atlantis.
Atlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among
Western European and
North American nations (specifically the
United States and
Canada) regarding
political,
economic, and
defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law." One who shares the idea of Atlanticism is known as an Atlantist or an Atlanticist; the name derives from the
Atlantic Ocean that separates the two continents — or, as sea-faring nations will say, the ocean that connects the two continents. Atlanticism is alien to
continentalism.
The
North Atlantic Council is the premier, governmental forum for discussion and decision-making in an Atlantic context. Well-known Atlanticists include former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, current British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown,
Zbigniew Brzezinski and
Javier Solana.
NATO is an Atlanticist organization, and the
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is an Atlanticist project. Leaders of
Eastern European countries such as
Poland and
Romania profess a strong Atlanticist view - one doesn't have to live in Western Europe (or North America) to be an Atlanticist.
Atlanticism has undergone significant changes in the 21st century in light of
terrorism and the
Iraq war, the net effect being a renewed questioning of the idea itself
and a new insight that the security of the respective countries may require alliance action outside the North Atlantic territory. After the
September 11, 2001 attacks,
NATO for the first time invoked
Article 5, which states that any attack on a member state will be considered an attack against the entire group of members. Planes of NATO's multi-national
AWACS unit patrolled the U.S. skies and European countries deployed personnel and equipment. In 2006, the North Atlantic Council declared that NATO's key priority was to contribute to the peace and stability in
Afghanistan. However, the
Iraq war caused fissures between certain Western European states and the US as well as Eastern European states such as
Poland. Countries which supported the Iraq war, such as Spain and Italy, saw their generally pro-Iraq war governments lose in recent elections. Tony Blair, however, was re-elected, notwithstanding his relationship with President Bush, and support for the Iraq war. The implication of
Romania and
Poland in
secret CIA-run prisons from 2003 to 2005 (both countries denied the existence of such prisons) hurt the Atlanticist idea. More recently, Germany, and, in May, 2007, France, saw the election of Atlanticist-leaning leaders, notwithstanding wide-spread, continuing opposition to the war in Iraq. On the other hand, rivalry between NATO and the
European Union had by 2007 all but caused relations between the two organizations to break down.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Atlanticism'.
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