This book engages with key contemporary European security issues from a variety of different theoretical standpoints, in an attempt to uncover the drivers of foreign policy and defence integration in the EU. Although European foreign policy has been attracting an ever-increasing number of International Relations (IR) scholars since the end of the Cold War, consensus on what drives European foreign policy integration has not yet emerged. This book seeks to encourage debate on this issue by examining a wide range of high-profile security issues which have roused significant interest from policy makers, academics and the public in recent years. The volume discusses, amongst other issues, the strategic posture of the European Union as a security actor, the troubled relationship with Russia, the debate regarding France’s relations with the US following France’s rapprochement with NATO and the EU’s influence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The collective intent of the contributors to highlight the drivers of EU foreign policy and defence integration ties together the wide variety of topics covered in this volume, forming it into a comprehensive overview of this issue. By paying considerable attention not just to the internal drivers of EU cooperation, but also to the critical role played by the US as an incentive or obstacle to European security, this book presents a unique contribution to this field of debate. This book will be of much interest to students of European security, IR theory, Transatlantic Relations, European politics and EU foreign policy.

The label 'European Security and Defence Identity' was used frequently in the 1990s and is attractive as it contains the different conceptualisations of security that developed in the post Cold War era. By asking to what extent an ESDI has developed within the EU or NATO and what it consists of, the study explores two aspects in particular. First, has the concept of security changed to the extent that military, economic and criminal threats are conceived and dealt with as a whole? It argues that this is not the case. As the decision-making mechanisms for different political instruments remain separated, events are not treated as a whole but rather dissected and different aspects addressed one by one. Second, is European security conceived as being indivisible? Is Europe entering a post-Westphalian and post state centric security age? The study confirms that a weak ESDI exists that complements rather than replaces or contradicts national security identities. Although national security identities will remain dominant, the study foresees a continued development of ESDI within the EU, while NATO will struggle to maintain the ESDI it has at present.

A Human Security Doctrine for Europe explores the actual needs of individual people in conflict areas, rather than using a conventional institutional or geo-political perspectives. This new volume proposes that Europe should develop a new kind of human security capability that involves the military, the police and civilians all working together to enforce law rather than to fight wars. It argues that threats such as weapons of mass destruction or terrorism can only be countered if we address the insecurity of people in all parts of the world. Many people in the world lead intolerably insecure lives. In large parts of Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia and the Middle East, men and women live in daily fear of violent attacks, kidnapping, rape, extortion, robbery or trafficking. The existence of large military apparatuses does not create security; indeed, as in Iraq, the use of regular military forces may only make things worse. This stimulating study includes: two chapters setting out the changed global context and proposing new approaches to security five regional studies on the Balkans, the Great Lakes Region, the Middle East, the South Caucasus and West-Africa four studies on different aspects of EU security policy, including the legal setting, the role of women, operational principles and the role of the new member states four operational studies on capabilities, resources and institutional embedding Written by a diverse team of international experts, this book will of be of strong interest to students and researchers of security studies, peace studies, human rights and international relations.

This book examines the European Union’s contribution to providing security in Europe amidst an increasingly complex and challenging environment. In this new and comprehensive guide to the EU's role in security since the end of the Cold War, the authors offer an explanation of EU internal and external security regimes, and argue that the Union has become an important exporter of security within its region. However, the Union’s rhetorical ambitions and commitments continue to outstrip its capabilities and it lacks both a common conceptualisation of security and a meaningful, shared strategic culture. Drawing extensively on primary sources the book examines the Union’s relations with the US and Russia in a time of shifting geostrategic calculations and priorities. With the EU capacity for enlargement slowing, this text presents a detailed assessment of EU security policies towards Central Europe, the Mediterranean, the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. European Union Security will be of interest to students and scholars of the EU, security studies, and international relations.

This book provides new and stimulating perspectives on how Kosovo has shaped the new Europe. It breaks down traditional assumptions in the field of security studies by sidelining the theoretical worldview that underlies mainstream strategic thinking on recent events in Kosovo. The contributors challenge the epistemological definition of the Kosovo conflict, arguing that we should not only be concerned with the 'Kosovo out there', but also with the debate about what counts as security, and how our definition of security is shaped by various power and knowledge interests in Kosovo.

This edited collection is a timely and in-depth analysis of the EU’s efforts to bring coherency and strategy to its security policy actions. Despite a special European Council summit in December 2013 on defence, it is generally acknowledged that fifteen years since its inception the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) has yet to acquire a clear sense of purpose. This book investigates those areas where the EU has established actorness in the security and defence field and asks whether they might constitute the elements of an emergent more coherent EU strategy on security. Taking a critical view, the contributors map the EU’s strategic vision(s) across particular key regions where the EU has been active as a security actor, the strategic challenges that it has pinpointed alongside the opportunities and barriers posed by a multiplicity of actors, interests and priorities identified by both member states and EU actors. By doing this we demonstrate where gaps in strategic thinking lie, where the EU has been unable to achieve its aims, and offer recommendations concerning the EU’s future strategic direction. This book will be of much interest to students of European security, EU policy, strategic studies and IR in general.