European Union = Superpower?

So as I've mentioned before, I recently read a book called "The United States of Europe: The Superpower Nobody Talks About" by T.R. Reid. Now, I'm reading a book on a similar topic called "Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century" by Mark Leonard.

Both books have a similar thesis: The United States' time in the limelight with its "hard power" and military might is either coming to an end or already is. Europe, now under the banner of the European Union and weilding its "soft" or "transformative" power, has stepped into the leading role on the world stage. It's provoked some interesting thoughts for me.

Reid talks a lot about how the U.S. gets what it wants because of its incredible military might -- it has such a big stick that no one dares challenge it. Europe, on the other hand, gets what it wants through political pressure: "soft" power. By drawing countries into its sphere of influence, Leonard says, the EU is able to transform them into allies instead of enemies. Either that or it makes them dependent upon the EU for support and therein has its leverage.

Leonard also warns that the United States can only take its "hard" power so far -- and that eventually, the world will lose patience with us for it. I think can definitely see this going on today, especially with the Iraq war. America has lost a large degree of credibility in the eyes of the world, and it's painfully obvious. Granted, it's not like they loved us beforehand, but things are definitely more hostile now. If there is one thing I've learned so far this year, it's that Europe is a political force to be reckoned with and that the United States has got to start taking world opinion into account (at least partially) in its decisions.

However, I am not a fan of the way the EU has acted in the past either. France criticized the United States severely for acting unilaterally in the Iraq war -- and yet, within the framework of the EU, France plays very much the same role the United States does on the world stage (the heavyweight that throws its weight around) -- only on a smaller scale. When the U.S. was putting pressure on North Korea because of its nuclear program (I think we've sanctioned them at this point), the EU sent a delegation to NK right away to discuss aid options. Why the EU wants to help someone like Kim Jong Il further a nuclear weapons program is beyond me, and sometimes I think that the United States and the EU represent two extremes: the United States is a hardliner, willing to act unilaterially and uncompromisingly at whatever cost, while the EU sometimes seems to be the exact opposite -- no backbone, no deeper values for which they're willing to fight, and unwilling to bend or break the rules for a greater cause.

But I don't think that's what Europe wants to stand for anyway. While the United States has spent the last 60 years doing its thing, Europe has been quietly, slowly, and surely building a political and economic machine with one purpose: to challenge the United States' supremacy and once again secure Europe a place on the world stage.

And it's worked. It's safe to say that, between its own member states and the countries dependent upon it (and therefore willing to vote with it), the EU has nothing less than an iron grip on the United Nations. American companies, now needing access to the vast European market, are increasingly looking to Brussels for compliance standards for their products. Europe, in turn, is investing heavily in America -- it's no accident that Deutsche Telekom has emerged so strongly and quickly in the last 5 years as T-Mobile in the States (T-Mobile USA is now the cash cow for T-Mobile International, pulling in more revenue than T-Mobile Germany, UK, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Slovakia). You'd be amazed at how many "American" companies are actually owned by European conglomerates. Take Verizon wireless, our biggest wireless provider. It's a shootoff of Vodafone, a British company.

So it's definitely been an enlightening 5 months here in Europe so far. I have definitely come away with a newfound respect for the continent, even if I don't always agree with what it does or what it stands for. In turn, I've become more critical and, in my opinion, more objective about my own country. I don't think I'll ever again be able to have the sort of tunnel vision I had before. Being outside of your own little bubble in the world for so long -- realizing that there actually IS a world out there -- causes you to really search for justification for things you've taken for granted your entire life.

It remains to be seen whether Europe really will be (or is) our second superpower. Europe has only a tiny military force (most of its army is integrated into the U.N. peacekeeping troops and NATO). If the United States pulls out of NATO (which I've heard whispers of), Europe will have a big problem, since it's left the military operations to the U.S. in the past. By the same token, it will be interesting to see where the United States goes in the coming years as Bush leaves office and we elect a new president who will likely have a different policy.