Atlanticism

Atlanticism is a philosophy of cooperation among Western European and North American nations (specifically the United States and Canada) regarding political, economic, and defense issues, with the purpose to maintain the security of the participating countries, and to protect the values that unite them: "democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law." One who shares the idea of Atlanticism is known as an Atlantist or an Atlanticist; the name derives from the Atlantic Ocean that separates the two continents — or, as seafaring nations will say, the ocean that connects the two continents, and ultimately from NATO. Atlanticism is alien to continentalism but not necessarily to Pacificism.