To drift in dixie

I have two things I want to talk about in this post. The first is somewhat philosophical and in many ways is just me thinking out loud on the computer. The second is an analysis of the paper by Walter Russell Mead about German-American relations.

Is there a transatlantic drift?

So far that seems to be the main question we have been discussing in class, with quite a few of the papers coming down strongly on the side of a drift apart. And many of these people have come out of roles inside of the government where they worked very closely on these issues. But this raises another question, did they decided that there was a drift because of what their perceived, or did they perceive a drift because of what they believed. IR has a unique way of becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy. If the people writing papers about how there is a drift are then advising and/or working for the government they are likely to act in a manner that reinforces the drift between the US and Europe. It’s sort of like the chicken and the egg. Perhaps the drift has been created or strengthened by the fact that we think it exists. But then again maybe not. It’s just an idea.

The first thing I would like to comment on is Mead’s way of characterizing what he refers to as “Red State America.” As someone who hails from a red state, and is somewhat conservative (although not a fan of Bush at all) I found the constant religious analogies annoying. Mead refers to red state policymakers as revivalists, he comments on how it would be unlikely for Schroder to seek Baptism at the hands of Billy Graham, he declares that red staters “frequently think the unthinkable and say the unspeakable,” and then works in second Billy Graham reference. If one were to read this article they would think that everyone between the Appalachians and the Rockies was a bible thumping, xenophobic idiot. This is not a good way to try to start a strong relationship. Mead says that he has spent most his life in a blue state, but if Europeans are reading this article they will get the wrong idea. And if this is the perception that Europe holds of Middle America we are in trouble. But I would like to think that Europeans have a better understanding of America. And I can personally testify to the fact that most Middle Americans, don’t have a deep seeded animosity towards Europe and if anything would like to have better relations with them.

But how can we achieve these better relations? Mead seems to have a good idea. The Middle East is an area where both sides have important interests. And both sides would assumedly like to see a peaceful and non-extremist greater Middle East. We have seen a lot of cooperation on Iran’s nuclear program and in Afghanistan, and with a little work these instances of cooperation could be used to work towards mending relations in other areas. By starting with small steps the two sides could hopefully see that they can work together and then tackle other larger issues. The Israeli-Palestinian situation offers another opportunity for cooperation and trust building. If Europe and America want to mend their relationship the Middle East offers a great place to start.

Matt Bank