The Next Superpower?: The Rise of Europe and Its Challenge to the United States

Americans have been recently lectured that 'Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus.' But this slogan fails to account for the economic might of the European Union, which has elevated the EU_and its member countries_to near superpower status. What are the implications of this development for the United States? Ambassador Rockwell A. Schnabel and Francis X. Rocca take up this critical and complex question in a detailed, firsthand analysis of the EU institutions, their leadership, and the member countries. Although Europe today cannot challenge America in military terms, the 25-nation economic giant can influence world events to the benefit or detriment of the United States. This book will answer the timely and crucial question of how the 'rise of Europe will affect U.S. prosperity and security for decades to come.' Ambassador Schnabel dispenses with diplomatic niceties. He is critical of both U.S. and European policies. Schnabel and Rocca give readers a compelling and provocative inside look at the people and issues that will decide whether the world's most consequential partnership flourishes or flounders. While alerting readers to the economic and geopolitical challenges posed by a stronger EU, the authors reject the complacency of those who see American 'unipolarity' as a license to neglect our allies, or those who entertain the illusion that we can 'divide and conquer' Europe. This book will make clear why the U.S. must work with the EU_or expect the EU to work against it.

Rockwell A. Schnabel was the United States ambassador to the European Union from 2001 to 2005; ambassador to Finland under President Ronald Reagan; and Deputy Secretary of Commerce under President George H. W. Bush. A longtime businessman, he is the advisory director, co-founder, and former chairman of Trident Capital. Ambassador Schnabel was born in the Netherlands, where he attended Trinity College. He lives in Los Angeles. Francis X. Rocca is an American journalist based in Rome. He has written about European business, politics, and culture for the Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, the Chronicle of Higher Education, BusinessWeek, the Atlantic Monthly, and the American Spectator, among other publications. He is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B.) and Yale University (Ph.D.).