This project sought to redefine the transatlantic relationship in the evolving international system and its role in the building of a viable, effective, and accountable global governance architecture, as well as to elaborate robust policy recommendations. By combining an inter-disciplinary analysis of transatlantic relations, including in-depth interviews, elite surveys and sophisticated Delphi exercises, the project took stock of the current state of transatlantic relations with regard to security, economy, environment, and democracy promotion.
Mannheim was mainly responsible for the design, implementation and analysis of the “Transworld Elites Survey” (TES). In total, 2,014 members of (political, social, business) elites in the United States and six European countries (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Poland, Greece) were interviewed.
Our results show that the EU is expected to play a significant role in the next years, although less so than the U.S. and China. Brazil, India, Russia, and Japan are considered as moderately relevant in the new global governance architecture. Regarding international security, Europeans prefer a more independent approach from the U.S., whereas Americans are in favour of an even closer relationship to tackle the problem of burden sharing. The elites are divided over the use of force: American and British elites are more inclined than the other European leaders to take recourse to war. Both sides of the Atlantic see favourably the economic integration between the EU and the U.S. Investment policies and increased transatlantic trade are considered to be the recipe for handling the financial crisis. The transatlantic leaders are aware of the fact that more efforts are needed to deal with threats to the global environment. However, all actors should be expected to play their part in this challenge, be they rich or poor countries. EU and U.S. leaders converge on the commitment to the promotion of democracy in the world, even if undemocratic countries are unfriendly or if they are likely to oppose EU and U.S. policies.
