"Echoes for Today: Lessons from US Policy Toward the European Defense Community"

[Introduction]. At an NSC meeting in June 1954, Secretary of State Dulles expressed concern that the administration’s "tough policy was becoming increasingly unpopular." Particularly in Europe, he worried that "the distrust of US strategy among our allies" was "whittling down the influence of the United States." The conclusion he drew was that Washington would have to recognize that "we can no longer run the free world." As some have noted and the introductory quote underscores, the US sense of "hegemonic dominance" during the Cold War was not as strong as often portrayed. In fact, what was more telling was the manner in which the foreign policy was conducted. The purpose of this paper is to trace US policy towards the EDC and to draw some lessons that may be applicable in the present transatlantic context. The paper will be divided into two parts. The first part reviews the evolution and implementation of US policy towards the EDC, with a focus on the beliefs and discourse of policy entrepreneurs, as well as the influence of domestic politics. The second section posits four lessons that are important for current transatlantic relations