EuroPower

Americans have to read op/ed pieces in major newspapers bashing Europe on almost a daily basis.  Books demonizing France have become a cottage industry.  Therefore it is somewhat refreshing when a balanced, nuanced report about Europe appears.  Michael Goldfarb’s radio documentary EuroPower, produced for WBUR in Boston, is pretty good.  You can download the audio files and read his report here.

It is not just a question of style that is at the heart of European
antipathy towards George Bush. There is a fundamental difference of
method between the U.S. and the nations of Europe in international
affairs. The growth of the European Union is an example of how soft
power can be used to bring nations round to democracy and free-market
capitalism. Remember, as recently as the 1970’s several countries in
Western Europe were still run by right-wing military dictatorships.
Spain , Portugal and Greece were able to make the transition from
fascist dictatorship to transparent, open democracy via the E.U. To
join the club they needed first to be democratic, then to harmonize
their economic infrastructure with the rest of members. Democracy was a
process of negotiation not imposition.

(…)
The idea of Europe, the power of Europe, is at the moment
overwhelmingly a construct of professionals in government ministries
and think tanks. In the street it is still a very new concept and it
troubles people that the professionals seek to define Europe against
the U.S.