The Gaps

Detlef Junker exposed the 'gaps' in transatlantic relations. On Friday, 3 June, he delivered the keynote address to the conference entitled, 'The Market Gap, the War Gap, and the God Gap.' In short, he argued that the United States has grown increasingly distant from its European relatives because conditions that have prevailed since the end of the cold war have exposed different approaches to economics, war, and religion. The 'Market Gap' compares the growth of (and debates over) the welfare state in Europe and the lack of a safety net (and the inability to create one) in the U.S. The 'War Gap' identifies the demilitarization of Europe and the militarization of American power as a source of almost unending tension when crises arise around the world. The 'God Gap' suggests that Europe's abandonment of religious devotion and American devotion to religion plays havoc with how both transatlantic partners understand their common religious and intellectual legacy.

The fact that these gaps exist suggested a larger point: that there still is a thing we should understand as 'The West.' A common heritage born of Christendom and the Enlightenment still provides existential meaning to both sides of the Atlantic. However, as Junker made clear, two different, though not necessarily opposing, interpretations of that common heritage have arisen as the threat posed by Soviet communism faded away. What we know contend with are two very rich, powerful, and proud sections of the world wrestling with problems from financial crises to war that call unified action. The question is, can such unity prevail in time to help 'the West' continue its profound legacy of global leadership?