A History That "Dares Not Speak Its Name"? Atlantic History, Global History and the Modern Atlantic Space

While a significant output of current historical research focuses on specific aspects of transatlantic relations in the modern world, the modern Atlantic space is not conceptualized as a unit of analysis. This essay argues that the gap between empirical dynamism and theoretical stalemate in the study of modern transatlantic relations is largely due to the way in which in the last decades Atlantic history and global history have shaped the study of international and transnational history. On the other hand, the transnational approach to U.S. history calls for the acknowledgement of the modern Atlantic as crucial field of interactions within the global context.