Titolo completo

Politics over Geopolitics: The Domestic Roots of Transatlantic Relations

Domestic politics has become a structural driver of transatlantic relations, reshaping how political forces in the United States and Europe interpret the alliance. In the United States, the traditional liberal-internationalist consensus now competes with a nationalist and increasingly civilisational vision of the West, while progressive thinking remains less developed and institutionally connected across the Atlantic. In Europe, the renewed Atlanticist-Europeanist debate intersects with the rise of nationalist forces that share strong ideological affinities with the US new right. These political cleavages complicate strategic convergence even as Russia, China and broader geopolitical pressures continue to create strong incentives for cooperation. The future of the transatlantic relationship will therefore depend on how political actors reconcile domestic ideological preferences with structural security and economic imperatives, and on whether Europe can build greater capacity without severing its enduring strategic links with the United States.

Paper produced in the context of the 2026 Transatlantic Symposium.