“Contemporary,” in the narrower sense of America and Europe, refers to the cultural currents that have shaped the character of contemporary societies. It thus includes political, technological, and socio-economic currents that collectively have shaped the way we live our lives in the US and Europe. Current history thus reflects here the interactions among such cultural currents.
“For many Americans and Europeans alike, Contemporary is a term used to distinguish sharply different political and economic institutions-notably the US and Europe.” For other purposes, read Contemporary (disambiguate). By contrast, contemporary American history is the history of American international relations since the Monroe Doctrine and the onset of what was then the US Empire. European contemporary history is the history of Europe as a whole, not of any one region, country, or empire. Thus “the study of Europe” is not the study of America but rather the study of Europe, with particular reference to Europe’s role in shaping modernity in the US by exerting global influence.
In light of this European focus, the present European political and economic order is shaped in part by the history of European interaction with America. This has produced a more complex set of dilemmas for European leaders since, as in America, the national security interests of Europe are not always the same as those of the US. European leaders are concerned about American unilateralism; they are reluctant to undertake bilateral trade deals with the US, to provide advanced technology to access, or to extend state support for European research and technology developments, fearing that such action would lead to erosion of European peace and security in the face of US aggression. However, American reluctance to extend its arms to Europe may prove short-lived, as Europe may come to depend upon its US alliance in times of heightened European threat from terrorism and Russian aggression