Reshaping Western Security: The United States Faces a United Europe

With the crumbling of the Soviet empire, the reunification of Germany and the rise of the European Community, the Atlantic alliance between the U.S. and Western Europe is in jeopardy, according to these tough-minded essays. Political scientist Henry Nau spins a scenario whereby Central European nations join the European Community and dilute the latter's security ties with the U.S. Harvard national security analyst Josef Joffee urges America to maintain a strong military presence in the heart of Europe in view of Soviet military power and a reunited Germany. Editor Perle, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, warns that NATO may crumble like the Warsaw Pact unless it reorients itself toward protection of Western security interests in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere. Roundtable commentaries accompanying the book's five essays give it the feel of an open-ended debate. (Dec.)