80 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Ashton writes convincingly and amusingly of her struggles with the E.U. and member-state bureaucracies. her struggles with the E.U. and memberstate bureaucracies. Despite a constant stream of crises—from the 2008 global financial breakdown and the 2011 effort to stabilize Libya to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and the 2006-2015 negotiations with Iran on its nuclear ambitions—the wheels of the Berlaymont building turned slowly and, at times, with little seeming relation to the pace of change and the scope of the challenge. Despite having had little experience or training in diplomacy, Ashton joined the fray on a series of key foreign policy decisions that shaped the rest of the decade. One of her biggest challenges was demonstrating that the E.U. was ready to play a leadership role in foreign affairs commensurate with the bloc’s economic and demographic power. Unfortunately, the foreign policy challenge that Ashton was forced to confront first and foremost was the slow-motion disintegration of Libya. The United States, which had fought for European unity for decades and saw the E.U. as the crucial partner in responding to critical security challenges around the world, decided to follow the E.U.’s lead in responding to the breakup of Qaddafi’s Libya. The history of the joint U.S.-E.U. response to the crisis in Libya is not a story of success at all. Ashton’s role was pivotal, and she addresses this difficult chapter in detail. It is fair to say that after foreign intervention Libya was neither happier nor more peaceful than before. What is most striking about this compelling memoir is how much the world has changed since Ashton pioneered the role of E.U. High Representative. Britain is no longer a member, and the E.U. has categorically failed to address critical challenges, from migration to the surge in extremist politics in many of its member states. The role of the United States has changed as well. Ashton worked hard to coordinate E.U. policy with the United States at a time when the U.S. was still clearly the dominant foreign policy actor in the world. Today it is hard to speak of America’s role in terms of unquestioned dominance. But the E.U. has not risen to the challenge; while NATO is stronger as a military alliance, there is still no real replacement for the role of the United States. Ashton asks the question of how the global West can advance its interests and values in an increasingly complex and difficult world. The answer to that question is very much unclear. Eric Rubin, a retired Senior Foreign Service officer and former ambassador, was president of AFSA from 2019 to 2023. n
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