ABSTRACT
The transatlantic relationship is one of the strongest and most densely institutionalized transnational relationships in the world. The strength of transatlantic relations is based on many shared security interests, common historical experiences, shared values associated with free and open societies and markets, and deep economic interdependence through extensive trade and foreign direct investment. The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) are also the world’s largest trading and investment partners. Yet, even the most casual observer knows that transatlantic relations were off to a rather rough start in the early twenty-rst century. Contemporary transatlantic relations and their possible future trajectories are the subject of considerable popular and scholarly attention (e.g. Cohen-Tanugi 2003; Gordon 2003; Kagan 2003; Peterson and Pollack 2003; Garton Ash 2004; Gordon and Shapiro 2004; Hamilton 2004; Pond 2004; Reid 2004; Rifkin 2004; De Grazia 2005; Hodge 2005; Jasanoff 2005; Levy et al. 2005; Lindberg 2005; Motolla 2006; Martinelli 2007; Mahoney 2008; Svensson 2008).
