The Brussels Forum 2008 Paper Series highlights some of the core issues and obstacles that confront the United States and Europe. These expert analyses are of particular importance to policymakers, governments, media, and think tanks in assessing these issues and providing a framework of cooperation that could result, if not in a stronger transatlantic relationship, then at least in a more open one. These briefing papers will also frame the conversation and shape the topics on the agenda for this year's Brussels Forum.

This paper series is available on the Brussels Forum web site and hard copies will be available at Brussels Forum.

Time to Rethink the WTO System
The United States, the European Union, and world trade

By Hugh Corbet, President, Cordell Hull Institute and Joe Guinan, Program Officer, GMF

This paper argues that there is a need for reflection on the purpose of the WTO system. Putting the rapid integration of the world economy in perspective, this paper dwells on American and European leadership, or lack thereof, and on the major threats to the WTO system over agricultural protectionism and the proliferation of trade agreements. The authors conclude with alternative broad approaches to the further liberalization of trade.

Will America's Image Recover in Europe?
Understanding public opinion since 9/11

By John K. Glenn, Director of Foreign Policy, GMF

The focus of this paper is the future of the transatlantic relationship and how it will influence foreign policy in the upcoming new U.S. administration. By analyzing the public opinion data gleaned from Transatlantic Trends, an annual survey of foreign policy attitudes in the United States and Europe conducted by GMF and its partners, the author aims to ground hopes and fears of the transatlantic relationship. Through his analysis, he argues that while differences between the American and European public have to be recognized, they do not look at the world as differently as one might think.

Of Ayatollahs and Jacobins
Re-balancing after the rise of revolutionary powers, a historical lesson for transatlantic policy toward Iran

by David Ignatius, Associate Editor and Columnist, The Washington Post

This paper argues that the Iranian revolution of 1979 can be compared to the French revolution of 1789 in its destabilizing effects, and in the need it created for a new balance of power. The author states that these comparisons are obviously not precise, the growth of the Prussian state and the emergence of Al-Qaeda terrorism are radically different events, but that each phenomenon is linked to the disruption of the status quo by a revolutionary power. The author then analyzes this comparison from the transatlantic standpoint.

The Crisis of the Post-Cold War European Order
What to do about Russia's newfound taste for confrontation with the West

by Ivan Krastev, Chair, Centre for Liberal Strategies

The author of this paper argues that Russia's newfound taste for confrontation with the West is not an emotional overreaction or theatrical grandstanding, it is a strategic choice. The Kremlin's new foreign policy is not circumstantial in nature. It is the expression of a new foreign policy consensus within the Russian elite and the Russian society at large. The author analyzes what the West can do to allow the coexistence of a post-modern European Union and a post-imperial Russia.

Guardians of the Global System
What the transatlantic economic partnership should give the world and why it might not deliver

by Richard Salt, Transatlantic Fellow, GMF

This paper is an effort to illustrate a number of factors shaping the global political economy, in the hope of generating a long-term foundation for transatlantic cooperation. The first part describes the scale of the challenge by reminding us why globalization generates particular challenges that require international solutions, and why it is so difficult to secure the necessary international cooperation. The second part argues that transatlantic cooperation is likely to be essential, and that the European Union and the United States have a particular responsibility conferred on them by their size and power; noting, however, that significant political obstacles seem, at present, likely to block progress.

Transatlantic Power Failures
America and Europe, seven years after 9/11: Hard power humbled, soft power exposed, and a looser, more pragmatic relationship

by Constanze Stelzenmuller Director, Berlin Office, GMF

This briefing paper examines the massive failures of that occurred after 9/11 on both sides of the Atlantic. It analyzes the notion of power, and the ideas and policies that stemmed from the attack by asking the following questions: What failed, and why? What remains valid, and worth preserving? And what is the way forward for the transatlantic relationship?