EU as a Counterweight to America

Description:

The last rival superpower to the US, the Soviet Union, collapsed at the end of the Cold War, and quite apart from its military strength, was in any case never powerful enough in other ways to counterbalance US influence. Japan had in the late 1980s seemed capable of challenging America’s industrial leadership, but by the 1990s it had lost its competitive edge. China might wish to be a major force in a multipolar world, but has been plagued by its lack of overall strength. Given these realities, the expanding EU has ambitions to be counter to United States’ unchecked power.

Enablers:

• the EU of 27 member states today generates the same amount of wealth as the United States.