Perspectives from the Netherlands

 Atlantic Perspectives Interview Report, nº. 9

Twenty individuals from the Netherlands were interviewed for this report on transatlantic geopolitics. While the North-Atlantic relationships between Europe and the US remains strong and established in issues related to security and economy, the project sought to gauge whether there was a budding pan-Atlantic community. Rather than confirm this idea, the interviewees highlighted the emergence of substantial emerging economies in Latin America and Africa and through this observation, emphasized the increasing polarity of the international community that is increasingly defined by diverse axis of power and significance and less so by traditional power blocs. While some specific topics had a distinctly Atlantic dimension, such as the issue of immigration and drug trafficking, most matters related to economy and security were firmly entrenched in the reality of a truly globalised world. When forming ideas of how Europe could maintain relevance, several interviewees saw the EU as a model for supra-national governance structures and demilitarisation and as defining itself in a soft power role.