Programme

The course deals with the History of the Relations between Europe and the US in the 20th century through the study of US foreign policy and the relations with the European powers, with particular reference to the first half of the 1900s and the Cold War. At the end of the course students will be able to critically read some essential aspects of the Transatlantic Relations in what goes by the name of "American century". Starting from an analysis of the establishment of the United States as an great power, the Spanish-American war of 1898, Wilson's politics in the first world war, and the experience of the USA with Europe during the rise of the Nazi-fascist regimes the Second World War, the course arrives then to face the crucial point of the Cold War. The course will, therefore, deals with both the confrontation with the Soviet Union and the politics of the blocs, as well as the construction of the EU and the transformation of the American attitude towards a geopolitical entity initially viewed favorably. Particular attention will also be given to the issue of political and cultural interaction during the Cold War: some lessons will therefore be devoted to the history of protest movements in the United States and Europe between the 1950s and the 1980s. Finally, the question of the "Americanization" of Europe and the historiographical debate on the role of the United States on the continent in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War will be addressed.

Core Documentation

Required Readings

General (Textbooks):

Attending students must choose and study one of the following texts:

Alessandra Bitumi, La Comunità atlantica. Europa e Stati Uniti in età contemporanea, Carocci, Rome, 2023.

Mary Nolan, The Transatlantic Century: Europe and America, 1890–2010, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Non-attending students must choose and study one of the following texts:

Mario Del Pero, Libertà e Impero: Gli Stati Uniti e il mondo 1776–2006, Bari: Laterza, 2008, Parts II and III.

Mary Nolan, The Transatlantic Century: Europe and America, 1890–2010, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

In addition, non-attending students must also study the following text:

Giuseppe Mammarella, Europa e Stati Uniti dopo la Guerra Fredda, Il Mulino, 2016.

Optional Readings (for both attending and non-attending students):

Apps, Peter, Deterring Armageddon: A Biography of NATO, Wildfire, 2025.

Daalder, Ivo H., & O’Hanlon, Michael E., Winning Ugly: NATO’s War to Save Kosovo, Brookings Institution Press, 2001.

Campus, Mario, L’Italia, gli Stati Uniti e il piano Marshall. 1947–1951, Laterza, 2008.

Colbourn, Susan, Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons That Nearly Destroyed NATO, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2022.

De Grazia, Victoria, Mazza, Alessandro, & Lamberti, Luca, L’impero irresistibile: la società dei consumi americana alla conquista del mondo, Einaudi, 2006.

Del Pero, Mario, L’alleato scomodo: gli USA e la DC negli anni del centrismo (1948–1955), Carocci, 2001.

Del Pero, Mario, & Federico Romero, Le Crisi Transatlantiche: Continuità e Trasformazioni, Storia e Letteratura, 2007.

Di Nolfo, Ennio, Il mondo atlantico e la globalizzazione, Mondadori Università, Milan, 2014.

Johnston, Seth A., How NATO Adapts: Strategy and Organization in the Atlantic Alliance since 1950, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.

Kaplan, Lawrence S., NATO before the Korean War: April 1949–June 1950, Kent State University Press, 2013.

Kaplan, Lawrence S., NATO and the UN: A Peculiar Relationship, University of Missouri Press, 2010.

Kaplan, Lawrence S., & Honick, Mark, NATO 1948: The Birth of the Transatlantic Alliance, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.

Krige, John, Sharing Knowledge, Shaping Europe: US Technological Collaboration and Nonproliferation, MIT Press, 2016.

LaFeber, Walter, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, Vol. II: The American Search for Opportunity, 1865–1913, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Lippert, Wolfgang D., The Economic Diplomacy of Ostpolitik: Origins of NATO’s Energy Dilemma, Berghahn Books, 2010.

Lundestad, Geir, The United States and Western Europe since 1945: From “Empire” by Invitation to Transatlantic Drift, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Maccarini, Roberto, Dalla neutralità alle trincee. Gli Stati Uniti e la Prima guerra mondiale, Carocci, 2024.

Matle, Aylin, Drifting Apart of Transatlantic Security: The American Mark on NATO under Barack Obama, Logos Verlag Berlin, 2021.

Nuti, Leopoldo, Gli Stati Uniti e l’apertura a sinistra: importanza e limiti della presenza americana in Italia, Laterza, 1999.

Pretelli, Matteo, Soldati e patrie. I combattenti alleati di origine italiana nella Seconda guerra mondiale, Il Mulino, 2023.

Rynning, Sten, NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, A History of the World’s Most Powerful Alliance, Yale University Press, 2024.

Rynning, Sten, NATO in Afghanistan: The Liberal Disconnect, Stanford University Press, 2012.

Sayle, Timothy, Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019.

Schmitz, David, The United States and Fascist Italy, 1922–1940, Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Sloan, Stanley R., Defense of the West: NATO, the European Union and the Transatlantic Bargain, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2016.

Stoltenberg, Jens, On My Watch: Leading NATO in a Time of War, W. W. Norton & Company, 2025.

Reference Bibliography

Apps Peter, Deterring Armageddon: A Biography of NATO, Wildfire, 2025. Daalder, I. H., & O’Hanlon, M. E. (2001). Winning ugly : NATO’s war to save Kosovo. Brookings Institution Press. Campus Mario, L'Italia, gli Stati Uniti e il piano Marshall. 1947-1951, Laterza, 2008. Colbourn, Susan. Euromissiles: The Nuclear Weapons That Nearly Destroyed NATO, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2022. Daalder, I. H., & O’Hanlon, M. E. (2001). Winning ugly : NATO’s war to save Kosovo. Brookings Institution Press. De Grazia, V., Mazza, A., & Lamberti, L. (2006). L’impero irresistibile : la società dei consumi americana alla conquista del mondo. Einaudi. Del Pero Mario, L'alleato scomodo: gli USA e la DC negli anni del centrismo (1948-1955), Carocci, 2001. Del Pero, Mario, and Federico Romero. Le Crisi Transatlantiche: Continuità E Trasformazioni. Storia E Letteratura, 2007. Di Nolfo Ennio, Il mondo atlantico e la globalizzazione, Mondadori Università, Milano, 2014. Johnston, Seth A. How NATO Adapts Strategy and Organization in the Atlantic Alliance since 1950. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2017 Kaplan, Lawrence S. NATO before the Korean War : April 1949-June 1950. 1st ed. Ashland: Kent State University Press, 2013. Kaplan, L. S. (2010). NATO and the UN : a peculiar relationship (1st ed.). University of Missouri Press. Kaplan, L. S., & Honick, M. (2007). NATO 1948 : the birth of the transatlantic Alliance. Rowman & Littlefield Krige John, Sharing Knowledge, Shaping Europe. US Technological Collaboration and Nonproliferation, MIT Press, 2016. La Feber, Walter, The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations. Vol. II. The American Search for Opportunity, 1865-1913, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Lippert, W. D. (2010). The economic diplomacy of Ostpolitik: origins of NATO’s energy dilemma (1. publ.). Berghahn Books. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845455743 Lundestad, Geir, The United States and Western Europe since 1945: From "Empire" by Invitation to Transatlantic Drift, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Maccarini Roberto, Dalla neutralità alle trincee. Gli Stati Uniti e la Prima guerra mondiale, Carocci, 2024. Matle, Aylin. Drifting Apart of Transatlantic Security: The American Mark on NATO under Barack Obama. Logos Verlag Berlin, 2021. Nuti, L. (1999). Gli Stati Uniti e l’ apertura a sinistra : importanza e limiti della presenza americana in Italia. Laterza Pretelli Matteo,Soldati e patrie. I combattenti alleati di origine italiana nella Seconda guerra mondiale, Il Mulino, 2023 Rynning Sten, NATO: From Cold War to Ukraine, a History of the World's Most Powerful Alliance, Yale University Press, 2024 Rynning Sten, NATO in Afghanistan: The Liberal Disconnect, Stanford University Press, 2012. Sayle, Timothy, Enduring Alliance: A History of NATO and the Postwar Global Order, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2019. Schmitz, David, The United States and Fascist Italy, 1922-1940, Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 2009. Sloan, Stanley R. Defense of the West NATO, the European Union and the Transatlantic Bargain. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2016. Stoltenberg Jens, On my watch: leading NATO in a time of war, ‎ W. W. Norton & Company, 2025

Type of delivery of the course

The first part of the course is dedicated to a general introduction to the history of Europe-US relations, with particular reference to the assumptions that helped characterize these relationships during the 20th century. The second focuses on the cold war and the highlights like the Berlin issue, the creation and role of NATO, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union and the development of European integration. The module concludes with a reflection on the consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall in the ten years after 1989. Starting from an analysis of US foreign policy in the second half of the nineteenth century, the course takes into consideration some salient moments of Europe-US relations, with particular reference to the war for Cuba (1898), to the Corollary of Roosevelt (1904), to the World War I and fascism. The relations with Great Britain, France and Italy in the first half of the 20th century are in evidence. The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked an important step in relations between Europe and the United States, while Theodore Roosevelt's policy consolidated the US vision of Europe. The Wilsonian turning point in World War I inaugurated a new season of transatlantic relations which, despite the pause of the Fascist period, contributed to redefining both the international vision and the relations with the European powers for the rest of the century. The course includes lectures and class discussion of assigned texts. In the last two weeks, attending students will prepare group reports to deepen the topics covered by the lessons through some of the monographs indicated below. The presentation and discussion of these texts is an integral part of classroom work. It will also include the viewing of films that will have the purpose of stimulating reflection on the issues addressed during the course.

Attendance

Class participation (minimum 70% attendance) and involvement in in-class debates

Type of evaluation

Attending Students (minimum attendance: 70% of the course) Attending students are required to: Give a presentation on one of the texts of their choice (see the “Required Readings” section). The organization and format of the presentations will be discussed in class; Take a written midterm exam (“esonero”), which will be held on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, under conditions that will be discussed in class; Take an oral exam covering the parts of the syllabus not included in the written test mentioned in point 2. The final grade (expressed in thirtieths) will therefore be based on these three components and on students’ participation during the course. The first component (oral presentation) will take place in class at the end of the course and will be carried out in groups of three or four students (the exact number will depend on class size). The grades for the oral presentation, participation, and written exam will remain valid until the September 2026 exam session. After that date, students will have to take the exam as non-attending students. Non-Attending Students Non-attending students are required to take an oral exam covering the entire syllabus: two core textbooks (see the “Required Readings” section) and one optional text. Non-attending students are kindly asked to contact the instructor to discuss the course mate