Study of the essay “Power and Weakness” by Robert KaganRobert Kagan, an American neoconservative academic and political commentator, created an international sensation in 2002 with his essay “Power and Weakness,” which he later expanded into a best-selling book called Of Paradise and Power. His essay announced that “Americans come from Mars and Europeans from Venus.” Here is a summary of his essay and the different stages of his analysis of the deterioration of relations between the United States and Europe. According to Kagan, a new phase in the relationship between the United States and Europe has begun. Indeed, Europe hides from power beyond laws and rules, while the United States uses its power because the laws are not reliable enough. This translates into a difference in the way foreign policy is conducted. The United States is less patient when it comes to diplomacy; they want to resolve problems quickly. This leads to unilateralism in international affairs. Europeans are more tolerant, preferring negotiation and diplomacy. They use economic ties to unite nations. What is the source of these different strategic perspectives? For Europeans, the peaceful strategic culture is quite new. Power shifted 200 years ago, when the United States was weak and practiced strategies of indirection. Now that the United States is powerful, it behaves as powerful nations do, and European countries see the world through the eyes of weaker powers.1. The power gap: perception and reality Europe has been militarily weak since World War II, but it remained unnoticed due to the unique geopolitical context of the Cold War: it was the strategic pivot between the United States and the Union Soviet. With the "new Europe", in the 1990s, everyone agreed that Europe would remain...... middle of paper ...... the evolution of this dichotomy, explaining how Europe and America have always played opposing roles. as Kagan points out, the United States is strong economically but weak militarily, while the United States is strong on both fronts. The way to solve the world's problems is therefore perceived very differently depending on whether we negotiate from strength or weakness. Clearly, the divide between Europeans and Americans is deeper than many realize, and both sides have serious issues to discuss. But do Europe and the United States really have different roadmaps, likely to clash more and more often in the future? Finally: "The obvious answer is that Europe should... and strengthen its military, even if only marginally", leaves me a mystery. Is Kagan implying that Europe has no military power or does he want to launch a new military race ??