Changing Bargaining Relations in the Atlantic Alliance

Paul Y. Hammond

Expert InsightsPublished 1973

Discusses the recent assertiveness of U.S. dealings with European allies. Alliance relationships survived extremely assertive behavior by Degaulle in the 1960s. NATO's customary relationships date from a time when the United States was commonly acknowledged to be in a distinctly advantageous position in both economic and military matters. For 20 years, the European objective has been to keep U.S. troops in Europe, and the U.S. objective has been to share this burden. The allies still spend about the same percentage of GNP for defense and commit about the same forces to NATO emergency plans. Militarily, NATO has been in important ways symbolic rather than realistic. Washington's tough handling of the 1971 monetary crisis, forcing the others to recognize their interest in the U.S. balance of payments, was a marked departure from the friendly U.S. negotiating style. Similarly, the "Atlantic Charter" proposal of April 1973 links the hitherto separated areas of trade and security. It is unclear, however, whether the Administration has the capacity to effect change in the Alliance.

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Hammond, Paul Y., Changing Bargaining Relations in the Atlantic Alliance. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1973. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P5033.html.
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