Americans and Europeans Dancing in the Dark: On Our Differences and Affinities, Our Interests, and Our Habits of Life (Hoover Institution Press Publication)

A once grand relationship slipping away The once rock-solid relationship between Europeans and Americans--based on common interests, shared values, trust, affection, and respect--is fading away, to be replaced by criticism and dissension. Why is this happening? And why does it matter? In Americans and Europeans--Dancing in the Dark, Dennis Bark offers an in-depth examination of the deteriorating relationship between America and Europe: our differences and affinities, the reasons behind our conflicts, and the future of our alliance. Our differences, Bark reveals, are not of principle but of practice, shaped by our different histories. He focuses on what he calls the essential difference between us: America was built from the ground up, whereas Europe was built from the top down. That is, America was built by immigrants who eschewed the social, political, and economic practices they had always resented. Their purpose was to form their own government themselves, from the ground up. Europe, on the other hand, was built by those who enjoyed privilege and who had much to gain from participating in government rule from the top down. This difference, Bark shows, is profound because it marks our history, shapes our views of the world, and continues to affect how Europeans and Americans conduct their private and professional lives. The European-American relationship, the author ultimately concludes, is unique and irreplaceable. To let it unravel would be unthinkable, and to let it come apart would have disastrous consequences for all of us. Alexandra Andreevna Voronine And Her Mother Lived In Kharkov Alone, Destitute, And Fearing For Their Lives Because Of World War I, Revolution, Civil War, And Famine. When Alexandra Went To Work In 1921 At The Office That Was Coordinating Russian And Foreign Famine Relief, She Met Captain Vidkun Quisling, Fridtjof Nansen's Representative In The Ukraine. In 1922, At The Age Of Seventeen, She Married The Man Whose Name Became Synonymous With Traitor During World War Ii And Accompanied Him To Oslo. Abandoned In Paris Within A Year, Penniless And Unaware Of Being A Pawn In A Game Of International Intrigue, Alexandra Remained Under Quisling's Strict Control For Several More Years. When Her Tumultuous Life Eventually Took Her To China, She Married W. George Yourieff, Who Supported Her Efforts To Recall And Analyze Her Years As Quisling's Wife. A Further Tide Of Events Saw The Yourieffs Settled In California, And In 1980 They Began A Collaboration With The Norwegian-born Historian And Novelist Kirsten A. Seaver. The Archives Seaver Consulted In London And Oslo And At The Hoover Institution Of Stanford University Confirmed Alexandra's Intensely Personal, Episodic Recollections About An Extraordinary Life And Provided The Necessary Connective Tissue. They Also Revealed To Alexandra At Long Last The Brutal Story Behind Her Lost Years.--jacket. Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About The Author -- Introduction -- Pt. 1. Continental Contrasts -- Preface -- Ch. 1. Differences -- The Essential Difference -- From The Top Down -- Aristocrats, Old And New -- From The Bottom Up -- The Essential Difference, Again -- Ch. 2. On History, Heritage, And Habits Of Life -- Geography, Distance, And Space -- Art And Music, Language, Manners, And Habits Of Life -- Views From The Backyard -- Pt. 2. Qualities Of Life -- Preface -- Ch. 3. Equality, Opportunity, Stability -- The European Socio-economic Model, The American Model -- Socialism In Europe And America -- The Post-1945 Political And Economic Order -- Ch. 4. Uncommon Marketplaces -- The Concept Of The Union -- When Realities Are Trump -- Great Expectations -- Competition -- Pt. 3. Freedom And Order -- Preface -- Ch. 5. Legacies, Ancient And Modern -- The Idea And The Tree -- History Lessons -- Ch. 6. The Fly In The Soup -- Changing Relationships -- Interpreting September 11, 2001 -- Ch. 7. The Force Of Things -- Aspects Of Leadership -- New Crossroads -- Obligations Written In The Heart -- Appendix 1 : A Comparative Chart Of European Countries -- Appendix 2 : An American Is ... -- Appendix 3: The International -- Notes -- A Selected Bibliography For Further Reading -- Index. Dennis L. Bark. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [253]-259) And Index. Dennis Bark offers an in-depth examination of the deteriorating relationship between America and Europe: our differences and similarities, the reasons behind our conflicts, and the future of our alliance. He shows that, by learning what our essential difference teaches us about ourselves and drawing on our shared affinities, we might repair our fading relationship.