The Evolution of the Common Security and Defence Policy: Critical Junctures and the Quest for EU Strategic Autonomy (St Antony's Series)

This book examines the evolution of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) from its inception in 1998 to the present day. Using the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism, it examines both the successes and failures of the CSDP. Drawing on a series of interviews with officials and researchers from various EU institutions, NATO, and diplomatic missions of EU member states, it assesses what has instigated changes in the CSDP, and why some events have proven more determining and influential than others. The book reviews six crises that have shaped the CSDP, including the Yugoslav Wars, the Second Gulf War, the Libyan campaign, the Ukrainian crisis, the Syrian crisis, and Brexit, in order to understand how real-life events have influenced policy. In this context, the book defines the term 'European Strategic Autonomy' dynamically, as the residual effect of negotiation over time. It will appeal to government officials and policymakers, as well as students and scholars of European politics and international relations. Marilena Koppa is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics at Panteion University of Athens, Greece. She was a Member of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2014. Whilst an MEP she was the Coordinator of the S & D Group at the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, and rapporteur on the implementation of the Common Security and Defence Policy About the Book 7 Contents 8 About the Author 12 Abbreviations 13 Chapter 1: Introducing the Foundational Role of Trust in European Security and Defence 16 Background to This Book 18 The Structure of the Project 20 Reference 22 Part I: Theorising an Institutionalist Approach to European Defence and Security 23 Chapter 2: Theorising European Security Policy 24 The Anglo-French Foundational Tension 25 Between Radical and Incremental Change 26 The Added Value of Institutionalism 27 Path-Dependent Theorising Versus Neorealism 29 Constructivism Versus Functionalism 31 References 34 Chapter 3: Defining Critical Junctures 38 What Is a Critical Juncture? 38 Critical Junctures in Context 39 Policy as the Cumulative Result of Crisis-Management 41 References 42 Chapter 4: “Global Europe” and the Quest for a European Strategic Culture 44 A Call for a Paradigmatic Shift in Europe’s Defence Agenda 45 The Euro-Atlantic Legacy 46 The Unipolar Moment 48 Towards a European Strategic Autonomy 50 The Strategic Culture Debate 52 The Methodological Relevance of the Term “European Strategic Culture” 54 References 56 Chapter 5: Agents of Change in an EU Context 61 Institutional Perspectives 62 The Executive Path to Defence Europeanisation 62 The Legislative Path to Defence Europeanisation 65 The Institutional State of Play 67 Critical Junctures: Crises Awaiting Resolution 67 References 70 Part II: Critical Junctures and the Evolution of CSDP 74 Chapter 6: Critical Juncture: The Shock of the Yugoslav Wars 75 The Yugoslav Crisis and Europe’s Collective Security Vacuum 76 Yugoslav Wars and the Western European Union 80 Kosovo and the Anglo-French Understanding 82 Europe Forges a Credible Claim to a Collective Security Mandate 85 References 88 Chapter 7: The Iraq War: Addressing European Fragmentation 92 The European Security Strategy (2003) 93 The Scope for European Defence Autonomy 96 The “Soft” European Security Mandate 98 The Lisbon Treaty: The Elusive Quest for Hard Power 99 Institutional Perspectives on Common Security Policy 103 Conclusion 105 References 107 Council and European Council 110 European Commission 110 Chapter 8: The New Resonance of European “Holistic Security” 113 The Libya Crisis and the Capabilities Vacuum 115 Ukraine and the Challenge of Collective Deterrence 118 Institutional Implications: Libya 121 Institutional Implications: Ukraine 123 References 126 European Council: Council 128 European Commission 128 European Parliament 129 EEAS 130 NATO 130 Others 130 Chapter 9: Fusing Domestic and International Security Agendas: The 2015 Migration Crisis 131 Reconceptualising Security in the EU 132 Security Reforms in Context: From Arab Spring to the Syrian Crisis 134 The Political Framing of the European Refugee Crisis 135 Securitising Migration 137 The Difficulty of Militarising Migration Management 140 Migration Crises and Institution-Building 143 References 146 Chapter 10: The Rupture of the Anglosphere 152 The Rupture of Britain 153 The Comeback of American Isolationism 155 Transatlantic Insecurity 156 The Anglosphere Looks to the Pacific 158 The Persistent Question of British Anchorage to Europe 160 European Security After Brexit: The EU Global Strategy 162 European Defence Policy Post-Brexit 165 Britain as a Third Country and EU Defence Capability 170 References 171 European Council: Council 177 European Commission 178 European Parliament 179 EEAS 179 UK 180 NATO 181 Other 182 Media 182 Part III: Building Collective Security in Europe. Lessons Learnt 185 Chapter 11: Negotiating a European Defence Framework 186 Reviewing Lessons Learnt 187 Negotiating Security Policy 190 What Is Strategic Autonomy 192 Beyond the Intergovernmental Versus Communitarian Divide 196 References 198 Chapter 12: In the Union We Don’t Trust 203 Recognising the Expectations Gap 204 Mindful of the Gap 205 Bridging the Gap 206 Spending Money Without the Brits 208 Reaching to the Other Side 211 The Quest for Elusive Trust 213 References 215 Epilogue 219 The Pandemic as a Critical Juncture 220 Crises of the West 221 The Question of Foresight 222 References 224 Index 226 In February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine. The war that followed and is still raging altered all our assumptions about European Security, NATO’s role in the twenty-frst century and the future of confict at the global level.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a watershed moment for European Security and Defence, as war has returned to the continent after nearly 75 years. The on-going war is changing Europe, is changing NATO and will defne the new European Security Architecture that will emerge.I fnished this book at the beginning of 2022, before the war erupted; so, at the time of writing, I did not have the possibility to take on board the enormous consequences of what is unfolding before our eyes.Undeniably, the Russian invasion will be the next critical juncture in the evolution of CSDP.In any case, this might be the subject of another book.May 3, 2022