'Europe vs. America' a bad French-German strategy

The Miami Herald ^ | April 16 2003 | CARLOS ALBERTO MONTANER

[knighthawk]

The French and the Germans are trying to create a European counterbalance to the United States. It's a bad strategy -- bad and worn out by clumsy and excessive use.

Why? Because Europe's history is weighted down by the pernicious notion of the ``balance of power.''

France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain and the Low Countries had more or less comparable dimensions, populations, armies and navies in the 16th Century. So, since then, the major powers' survival strategy was to prevent certain military alliances between states or dynastic empires from gaining so much weight that they would be unbeatable on the battlefield.

No power should acquire too much strength.

[knighthawk]

Europe-list

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

[Cicero]

Balance of power politics goes back much further than that. It was brought to perfection by Metternich and Bismark, but it was specifically advocated by Machiavelli in The Prince. Machiavelli in turn cites the Roman example especially in their Greek campaign against Philip of Macedon.

That principle is perfectly summed up in Virgil's famous passage on what the Roman "art" will be: the art of governing the world by supporting weaker states and weakening or destroying stronger states: debellare superbos.

[3AngelaD]

I would like on the list, please. This guy is good. He's also well read. Oh that the Washington Post would look beyond the border of PG county, recognize that Latin America is there and regularly print something like this.

[PeoplesRep_of_LA]

So they are finally writing about this on this side of the pond?

I hadn't heard of this Miami story, since you are posting it, does this means that stories like this are being seen over there? Good.

[gcruse]

bttt

[knighthawk]

You are on the Europe list as of now.