Realism and the Common Security and Defence Policy

Rynning, Sten

doi:10.1111/j.1468-5965.2010.02127.x

Cited by 63 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…As conflicts tend to be pervasive, little agreement can be forged on foreign policy issues within the EU which becomes the result of the 'lowest common denominator' between the national interests of the member states (Nuttall, 2000). Moreover, scholars have observed that big EU member states engage in developing and accept EU foreign policy only when it promotes their interests or doesn't endanger them (Hyde-Price, 2008;Rynning, 2011). On the other hand, Europe's search for a meaning has driven scholars to enquire into the way in which the ontology of the Union predisposes it to behave in the international arena.…”

Section: The Eu's Global Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

British press attitudes towards the EU’s global presence: From the Russian-Georgian War to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit

Nitoiu

2014

Comp Eur Polit

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Section: The Eu's Global Presencementioning

confidence: 99%

British press attitudes towards the EU’s global presence: From the Russian-Georgian War to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit

Nitoiu

2014

Comp Eur Polit

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“…If we shift the focus to classical realism (Rose 1998;Rynning 2011) smaller states reappear as relevant objects of analysis. Moreover, the geopolitics of territory, population flows and frontiers become important (Waever 1992a: 172;Ashley 1987;Rudolph 2003).…”

Section: A Realist Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

European Visa Cooperation: Interest Politics and Regional Imagined Communities

Hobolth

2011

SSRN Journal

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Since the early 1990s the European Union has struggled to increase integration in the sovereignty sensitive areas of justice and home affairs and foreign policy. The aim of this paper is to enhance our understanding of what patterns of cooperation have been established between the member states, and why. I do so by analysing the case of short-stay visa policy. Visas are a corner stone of EU's border control, regulating access to the Union's area of freedom, security and justice. It is moreover an instrument used in foreign and diplomatic relations. As a field where the member states' cooperation is particularly intense it is an 'extreme case' well-suited for drawing out empirical patterns and developing theoretical concepts. The paper is based on a network analytical approach and a new dataset of all the EU/Schengen member states' mutual consular visa assistance agreements. This I use to document the extent and pattern of cooperation from 2005 to 2010. I show that the member states rely intensively on each other's consular services. They mainly share sovereignty in four distinct regional clusters -a Nordic, Benelux, Southern European and an emerging Central Eastern. France and Germany are at the centre of the network. To explain this structure of cooperation I discuss the relative merits of realist, liberal intergovernmentalist and constructivist approaches. I show how they each identify important dynamics but emphasise the relative merits of a constructivist perspective. I put forward a new concept of 'regional imagined communities' which explains cooperation by the existence of shared identities owing to regional commonalities in language and state-building histories. I argue that the concept improves our understanding of European integration in visa policy, and suggest it might hold wider potential for explaining dynamics of collaboration in other sovereignty sensitive policy areas.

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“…Emphasizing both military and civilian capabilities, CSDP missions have been underway since 2003 and seek to promote regional stability. However, some skeptics have decried the rise of CSDP as a new security pillar, arguing that it undermines the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and threatens the US-EU transatlantic security relationship through its balancing effect (Rynning, 2011). I argue that this criticism of CSDP is weak and rather a misconception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

CSDP and NATO: Rethinking the Transatlantic Security Relationship

Bhathal¹

2013

urceu

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This paper explores the European Union's (EU) security relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States (US) through the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Skeptics have decried the rise of CSDP as a new security pillar, arguing that it is an attempt to balance against NATO and the US. I argue that this criticism is false. A comparison of two CSDP military operations, European Union Force Chad/CAR (EUFOR Tchad/RCA) and European Union Force Althea (EUFOR Althea), shows that operational success is heavily dependent on the EU's ability to use NATO assets through the Berlin Plus agreement. While EU security integration has progressed, it continues to suffer from a significant capabilities gap; without access to NATO capabilities, CSDP military operations face many challenges. I conclude that CSDP is not threatening the transatlantic relationship because the EU remains a limited hard power actor in promoting and securing international security. Keywords IntroductionThe Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) represents an important step forward in security integration in the European Union (EU). Agreed upon through the 1998 St. Malo Declaration, CSDP operationalizes the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) through an intergovernmental structure. Emphasizing both military and civilian capabilities, CSDP missions have been underway since 2003 and seek to promote regional stability. However, some skeptics have decried the rise of CSDP as a new security pillar, arguing that it undermines the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and threatens the US-EU transatlantic security relationship through its balancing effect (Rynning, 2011). I argue that this criticism of CSDP is weak and rather a misconception. The EU has invoked the Berlin Plus agreement to conduct two CSDP military operations thus far. A comparison of one of these operations with a non-Berlin Plus military operation of comparable scope reveals that operational success is heavily dependent on the EU's ability to use NATO assets through the Berlin Plus agreement: without access to NATO's capabilities, CSDP military operations face many challenges and often end prematurely or in failure. While EU security integration has progressed, it continues to suffer from a significant capabilities gap, making any serious fear of the development of CSDP as a competitive European security pillar misplaced. This paper will explore the EU's security relationship with NATO and the US through the framework of CSDP. Through a comparison of two case studies, I will show that the EU is more successful in its CSDP military operations when utilizing NATO assets. Part one will provide necessary background information regarding (1) the larger transatlantic security debate, (2) the EU's capabilities gap and efforts to address this issue through the establishment of the European Defense Agency (EDA), and (3) the EU-NATO Berlin Plus agreement. Part two will focus on two CSDP military operati...

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Realism and the Common Security and Defence Policy

Cited by 63 publications

References 52 publications

British press attitudes towards the EU’s global presence: From the Russian-Georgian War to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit

British press attitudes towards the EU’s global presence: From the Russian-Georgian War to the 2009 Copenhagen Summit

European Visa Cooperation: Interest Politics and Regional Imagined Communities

CSDP and NATO: Rethinking the Transatlantic Security Relationship

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