The strategic culture of the European Union

A Progress Report

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7803401
AutoresPaul Cornish (Chatham House), Geoffrey Edwards (University of Cambridge)
Ano2005
Volume81
Fascículo4
Páginas801-820
Data de publicação2005-07-13
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
EditoraOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1468-2346.2005.00485.x
OpenAlexW2079644002
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas22

This article re-examines the EU's character and potential as a strategic actor, setting that analysis in the context of the debate on strategic culture. The definition of strategic culture as the political and institutional confidence and processes to manage and deploy military force, coupled with external recognition of the EU as a legitimate actor in the military sphere, lends itself to a reappraisal around four core questions. First, military capabilities: establishing a European strategic culture is vital in order to rationalize the acquisition of capabilities necessary for the range of humanitarian and peacekeeping tasks envisaged. Equally, without military capabilities, all talk of a strategic culture would ring hollow. This article discusses how much closer the EU has come to acquiring those essential capabilities. Second, while the EU has gained significant experience of, albeit limited, military/policing experiences and established a growing reputation and some credibility for ad hoc action, to what extent and in what quarters have these experiences engendered a sense of reliability and legitimacy for autonomous EU action? Third, given that so far operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Balkans have depended on an integrated civil–military effort, do the policy-making processes of the EU now ensure the appropriate level and depth of civil–military integration? Finally, considering that EU operations have been limited in time and scope, and that much of the EU's work in the Balkans has depended upon cooperation with NATO, what can be said of the evolving relationship between the EU and NATO

Business · Civil society · Context (archaeology) · Credibility · Democracy · European union · International trade · Legitimacy · Military science · Peacekeeping · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Reputation · Sociology · Strategic goal · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Public Administration