European Strategic Autonomy and Small States' Security : In the Shadow of Power

"This book analyses whether the EU's drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states' perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs and its potential impact on the EU's institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and International Relations"-- Provided by publisher This book analyses whether the EU’s drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests.The volume presents small states’ perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU’s institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas.This book will be of much interest to the students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. Cover 1 Endorsement 2 Half Title 4 Series Information 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Dedication 8 Table of Contents 10 List of Contributors 12 Acknowledgements 15 Abbreviations 16 1 Introduction: Small States, International Institutions, and European Strategic Autonomy 18 Establishing a Theoretical Framework 20 Presenting the Case Studies 24 Defining the Scope of European Strategic Autonomy 26 Notes 27 References 28 2 European Strategic Autonomy: The Origins Story 31 Same Idea But a Different Name 32 The Ever-Widening European Strategic Autonomy 39 Conclusions 46 Notes 47 References 47 3 Revisiting France’s Commitment to Defence Integration: A Case of Political Functionalism 51 France as the Promoter of European Strategic Autonomy 52 Conditionality of the French Strategic Culture 55 The Role of France’s Defence Industrial Interests and European Defence as a Problem-Solving Structure 59 Conclusions 62 Notes 64 References 64 4 Germany: The Renewed Quest for Strategic Autonomy 68 Merkel: Kicking the Can Down the Road? 70 “Traffic Light” Coalition: the Pursuit of Sovereign Europe 72 The Zeitenwende Moment? 74 Conclusions 75 Note 76 References 76 5 Poland’s Resilient Atlanticism 80 Scepticism and Reasoning 81 “And the Earth Was Without Form...” 83 Common Causes of Trust Issues 86 Open Strategic Autonomy 88 “I Have a Dream” 90 Conclusions 91 References List 92 6 US Foreign Policy During the Biden Presidency: A Reset in the US Approach... 98 Traditional US Position About the European Strategic Autonomy 99 Biden Administration’s Position About the EU as One of the Transatlantic Relations’ Pillars 101 The European Strategic Autonomy in the Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy 103 Conclusions 107 References 107 7 Through the Estonian Looking Glass: Can NATO’s Credible Deterrence and EU Strategic Autonomy Succeed Simultaneously? 110 Estonian Political Elite On ESA 111 Estonian Military Leadership On ESA 114 Estonian Academic Debates On ESA 115 Would Institutional Reforms Make ESA More Appealing for Estonia? 119 Conclusions 121 Note 123 References 123 8 Military Capabilities First, Politics Later: Latvia’s Approach to European Strategic Autonomy 126 Desirable Scope of ESA 128 Compatibility With NATO and the Role of the US in European Security 130 Capabilities 131 Institutions, Instruments, and Potential Allies 133 Conclusions 134 Interviews 135 Note 136 References 136 9 European Strategic Autonomy in Lithuania’s Foreign Policy Discourse 138 European Strategic Autonomy in Lithuania’s Perspective 139 The European Strategic Autonomy in Lithuania’s Foreign and Security Policy 140 Transatlantic Relations and EU Strategic Autonomy 142 EU Defence Capabilities, Industry, and Technologies 144 The EU Defence Institutionalisation, PESCO, and Military Mobility 147 Eastern Partnerships, European Peace Facility, and EU Support to Ukraine 149 Conclusions 150 Note 151 References 151 10 European Strategic Autonomy: Opportunities and Threats for Denmark 155 Danish Security and Defence Policies and Priorities 156 The Issue of the EU Opt-Outs 158 European Strategic Autonomy – a Necessity, a Threat, and a Delicate Balancing Act 160 European Strategic Autonomy: What It Should Look Like From a Danish Perspective 165 Conclusions 166 Note 167 References 167 11 Belgium and European Strategic Autonomy 170 Cross-cutting Interests as the Main Determinants of Foreign and Defence Policy 171 Belgian Vision of European Strategic Autonomy 173 Multinational Military Integration 176 The NATO Watermark 178 Institutional Perspectives 179 Conclusions 180 Note 181 References 182 12 Dutch Security and Defence Policy: From Faithful Ally to Pragmatic European 184 Introduction 184 From Neutrality to Alliance Member: the Myth of the Faithful Ally 185 The Dutch Interests in a New European Security Architecture 186 A New Century, a New Dutch Political Landscape 187 Changes in the European Political Landscape and Shifts in the Dutch Security and Defence Policy 189 From Either – Or Towards and – And: a New Dutch Orientation Towards EU 191 The Netherlands and International Defence Industrial Cooperation 192 Strategic Compass and Strategic Autonomy: “He Who Must Not Be Named” 192 Conclusions: Reflecting On War in Europe 194 Notes 196 References 196 13 A Reluctant Supporter: The Hungarian Perspective On European Strategic Autonomy 199 Sources, Structure, and Methodology 200 European Defence Integration and Hungarian Strategic Thought 201 European Strategic Autonomy: Constraints and Opportunities 204 Conclusions 209 Interview List 209 Notes 210 References 210 14 Shared Values and Common Borders: Why Greece Views European Strategic Autonomy as an Opportunity 213 Defence and Security Priorities 214 ESA – What Does It Mean for Greece? 216 Whose Ally? 220 Conclusions 222 Notes 223 References 223 15 Conclusions: Domination of Pragmatism Towards the European Strategic Autonomy 226 Small States’ Expectations and Concerns 227 Systemic Stimuli and the Interests of the Powerful 231 Concluding Remarks 234 Notes 235 References 235 Index 237 Small,States;,International,Institutions;,Strategic,Autonomy;,Defence,Integration;,Political,Functionalism;,Atlanticism;,Foreign,Policy;,NATO;,Military,Capabilities;,Defence,Policy;,Common,Borders Small States,International Institutions,Strategic Autonomy,Defence Integration,Political Functionalism,Atlanticism,Foreign Policy,NATO,Military Capabilities,Defence Policy,Common Borders This book analyses whether the EU's drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states'perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU's institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.