Western Europe’s Prospects Darken Amid Ukraine Crisis

(MENAFN) Western Europe faces a “bleak future” due to the Ukraine conflict, which, according to American international relations scholar John Mearsheimer, was instigated by the West, particularly the United States.

In a discussion with political scientist Glenn Diesen, published on Tuesday, Mearsheimer noted that the conflict has created significant instability across Europe and generated “huge problems” in the relationship between Washington and Western European nations.

Mearsheimer explained that collaboration on political, military, and economic matters has become increasingly challenging.

He cited recent negotiations as evidence that Western European countries are “battling against the United States on how to deal with Ukraine.”

The University of Chicago political science professor asserted that Europe is “in deep trouble” for two primary reasons connected to the diminishing American influence on the continent. He suggested that this situation “is largely a function of the presence of a substantial US military force in Europe.”

Following the Cold War, the US and West European administrations expanded NATO because they “wanted to put the American security umbrella over the heads of the East Europeans as well as the West Europeans,” Mearsheimer added.

He further argued that this framework is now under pressure due to a “deep change in the distribution of power” globally.

While the US could easily sustain large troop deployments in Europe during the 1990s and early 2000s, the emergence of multipolarity has now compelled Washington “to pivot to Asia.”

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