Transatlantic Elite Embeddedness

European political elites derive part of their legitimacy and power from institutional, financial and reputational ties to the U.S.-led transatlantic system. That structural embedding can produce a readiness to acquiesce to American strategic moves—even when those moves threaten European sovereignty or strategic interests—because elites prioritise system preservation over territorial independence. — If true, this explains repeated European passivity on U.S. coercion and reframes debates about NATO, EU strategic autonomy, and domestic legitimacy as struggles over elite interests and institutional dependence.