Description
To what extent has the Russo-Ukraine war strengthened the transatlantic bond? There is broad agreement that the European states and their American counterpart share a bond from an economic, cultural and certainly security point of view. However, an analysis is lacking on the actual strength and endurance of the bond. In recent years, European states have often feared a distancing of their America counterpart. The Russo-Ukraine war of 2022 offers a very important case study to tackle this question because the Russo-Ukraine war allegedly contributed to (re) strengthen the bond between the European states and their American counterpart. This paper argues that whilst the Russo-Ukraine war contributed to bringing the European states and their American counterpart closer together. However, the bond between the European states and their American counterpart continues to rest upon a familiar pattern in their relationship which has contributed to making the bond possible, albeit problematic. This is the power imbalance between the US and the European states, which makes it difficult for Europeans to have a viable alternative to siding with the US. I illustrate this argument with reference to the run up to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
