Cousins and Strangers America, Britain, and Europe in a New Century

"A magisterial volumea cocktail of autobiography, political analysis of the state of the world, and policy prescriptions." Foreign Affairs For fifty years, the Americans, British, and Europeans were close partners, yet today the Western alliance is strained to a moment of reckoning. InCousins and Strangers, Chris Patten, one of Europe's most distinguished statesmen, scrutinizes what has happened in the years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, pinpointing the shifts in power and security that have reshaped our world. In penetrating and sparkling analysis, Patten argues that to face the urgent threats of the twenty-first centuryterrorism, nuclear proliferation, failed and failing states, massive environmental changethe Western alliance must stop bickering and kowtowing and start asserting cooperative leadership. Bad habits and easy, self-absorbed slogans must give way to smart politics in order to ensure the world's, and our own, best interests. Drawing on his decades of experience in government and international diplomacy, Patten sharply assesses the leadership of the United States, Great Britain, and Europe, and the stakes for all three if the West breaks apart. Chris Patten, chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle universities, was from 1999 until 2004 European commissioner for external relations. He was previously the member of Parliament for Bath, chairman of the Conservative Party, and the last British governor of Hong Kong. He is the author ofEast and West:China, Power, and the Future of Asia. He lives in London. For fifty years, the Americans, British, and Europeans have been close strategic partners. After the Second World War, the United States helped preserve freedom in half of Europe and gave the West a remarkable half century of (for the most part) peace and prosperity. Yet today the Western alliance is strained to a moment of reckoning. InCousins and Strangers, Chris Patten scrutinizes what has happened in the years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, making sense of the fundamental shifts in international power that now shape out world, and making the case for reestablishing a strong and effective Western alliance in the years ahead. To face the urgent threats of the twenty-first centuryterrorism, nuclear proliferation, fissures between rich and poor nations, failed and failing states, massive environmental changethe United States, Great Britain, and Europe must stop the bickering and assert cooperative leadership. Bad habits and easy, self-absorbed slogans must give way to smart politics in order to ensure our best interests. Patten, who served as the last British governor of Hong Kong and the European Union's diplomatic liaison to the rest of the world, shows how this responsibility falls on all three partners: * America's gunslinging attitudes and "you're with us or against us" unilateralism have alienated its friends in addition to its enemies. The United States must shun the imperial mantle, renew its commitment to global governance, and take on a leadership roleand a larger share of the expensesin environmental and economic management. * The United Kingdom has acted more like a poodle than a partner to its American cousins, undermining Britain's own strategic interests at home and in Europe. Britain must reinvent the "special relationship" as a channel for persuading America to follow Europe's multilateral principles rather than as a cover for American unilateralism. * Europe, particularly France, has pushed back against a strong European Unionexcept as a free-trade zone and as a forum for sniping at U.S. polic

Chris Patten, chancellor of Oxford and Newcastle universities, was from 1999 until 2004 European Commissioner for External Relations. He was previously the member of Parliament for Bath, chairman of the Conservative Party, and the last British governor of Hong Kong. He is the author of East and West: China, Power, and the Future of Asia. He lives in London.