Great expectations:The Brexit moment in EU security and defence and the return of the capabilities–expectations gap

First published online: 19 December 2019This article re-examines the capability–expectations gap in the European Union’s foreign policy in light of recent developments in this field. Our point of departure is the observation that the expectations being placed on the EU’s foreign and security capabilities in recent years have been steadily increasing, in response to a number of external and internal developments, including the Arab Spring, the Ukraine crisis and America’s ‘pivot’ to Asia, as well as the Brexit vote. We argue, however, that the institutional changes introduced as a result have not succeeded in fulfilling the lofty ambitions held of the Union either by itself or by other actors since they suffer from many of the same failings that have persistently bedevilled EU security initiatives. The result is a mismatch between the EU’s ambitions and its ability to deliver on these, which threatens to reopen the capabilities–expectations gap, which has been steadily declining since the late 1990s. Existing scholarly approaches have missed this problematic dynamic since they have focused more on the institutional changes (the supply side) rather than the increasing expectations (the demand side). While pronouncements regarding Europe’s ‘strategic autonomy’ and such like offer clear gains for European leaders in the short term, they may come back to haunt them in the years to come

Think Tanks für die polnische Außenpolitik

Die Analyse setzt sich mit der Tätigkeit der politikberatenden Institutionen, der sogenannten Think Tanks, auseinander, die auf dem Feld der polnischen Außenpolitik agieren. Nach einer Skizze der Entwicklung der »Denkfabriken« in Polen werden Strukturen, Arbeitsmethoden und Finanzierungsquellen ausgewählter Think Tanks charakterisiert und daraus Erkenntnisse über die polnische Beratungslandschaft gewonnen. Die Analyse schließen Vorschläge für eine Dynamisierung der außenpolitischen Beratungslandschaft ab

Introduction: strategy in EU foreign policy

© 2017 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature The point of departure for the special collection is provided by the observation that the growing complexity of the crises in the neighbourhood and the internal ones faced by the Union provides a sense of urgency to any type of strategic thinking that the EU might embrace. Against this backdrop, the recent shift towards geopolitics and strategic thinking is contextualized and the understanding of key aspects of ways in which the shift is translated into strategies by EU actors is put forward. The analysis recognizes the recent developments within the institutional dimension of EU’s foreign and security policy, yet it confirms the fundamental meaning of the member states’ willingness to invest resources and harmonize their foreign policy strategies at the EU level

Towards the European Union’s foreign policy 2025 : taking stock of the Dahrendorf foresight project

First published online: 29 June 2017After a decade of economic and political crises, the European Union has arrived at a critical juncture, as has its foreign policy. The long-running debate on gaining more coherence in EU's external action as a global security provider has gained more traction than ever before. The Union is weakened due to recent internal crises from which it is only slowly recovering: the trust placed in Brussels’ institutions by both European citizens and global partners is shrinking and the citizens of one of the EU's largest member states, the United Kingdom, have just voted to leave. Based on an analysis of the current state of the Union, this paper takes stock of the outcomes of the Dahrendorf Foresight Project and looks ahead at the EU's role in the world of 2025. By following the narrative of driving forces beyond the EU's foreign policy, this article makes four policy recommendations for development within the next decade

Inventors and gatekeepers?: The EU member states and the European external action service

This project reflects on the ambivalence of the EU member states in their relationships with the new institutional arm of European diplomacy - the European External Action Service, headed by the High Representative. While trapped in rhetorical support for stronger and better-coordinated EU foreign policy, the member states show little willingness to equip the newcomer with political mandate and room for action, and provide a case in point for the post- Maastricht integration paradox. The main aim of this paper is to shed light on the reasons for this paradoxical behaviour. Taking into consideration the timeline 2009-2014, the article looks at patterns and dynamics of the mutual cooperation between the EEAS selected member states (Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom)

Chapter Introduction Poland and Germany in the European Union

"This book explores the political and social dynamics of the bilateral relations between Germany and Poland at the at the national and subnational levels, taking into account the supranational dynamics, across different policy areas (trade, foreign and security policy, energy, fiscal issues, health and social policy, migration and local governance). By studying the impact of the three explanatory categories: historical legacy, interdependence and asymmetry on the bilateral relationship, the book explores the patterns of cooperation and identify the driving forces and hindering factors of the bilateral relationship. Covering the Polish-German relationship since 2004, it demonstrates in a systematic way, that it does not qualify as embedded bilateralism. The relationship remains historically burdened, asymmetric and thus it is not resilient to crises. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European and EU Politics, German politics, East/Central European Politics, Borderlands studies, and more broadly for international relations, history and sociology.

Post-Brexit EU/UK security cooperation: NATO, CSDP+, or ‘French connection’?

The purpose of this article is to understand the EU/UK security relationship after Brexit and the institutional form(s) it may take. Taking stock of the literature on the consequences of Brexit for European foreign affairs, this article employs a question-driven approach to examine uncertainties regarding the future EU/UK security relationship. These questions relate in particular to the United Kingdom’s commitment to European security after Brexit, the nature of post-Brexit developments within the Union, and the European Union’s willingness to afford the United Kingdom a substantial role after withdrawal. This article examines each of these questions in turn, before considering the viability of three frequently mooted institutional arrangements post-Brexit: UK participation in the CSDP as a third country; increased engagement with NATO that becomes the main platform for cooperation between the United Kingdom and the European Union; and the enhancement of bilateral ties between the United Kingdom and key European allies – especially Franc

Die deutsch-polnische Sicherheits- und Verteidigungszusammenarbeit: geprägt von unausgeschöpftem Potential oder struktureller Fragilität?

Diese Analyse betrachtet die bilaterale Sicherheits- und Verteidigungszusammenarbeit zwischen Deutschland und Polen in der Europäischen Union und in der Nato. Der deutsch-polnische Bilateralismus steht in verschiedener Hinsicht im Zentrum der regionalen und transatlantischen Sicherheitsdynamiken – zum Beispiel aufgrund der geographischen Nähe zu Russland oder der gemeinsamen Mitgliedschaft in Bündnissen wie der Europäischen Union, der Nato oder der OSZE. Überdies steht zu erwarten, dass Erkenntnisse über die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungskooperation auch auf die deutsch-polnischen Beziehungen in anderen Bereichen übertragbar sind. Im Folgenden wird vor allem die Phase nach dem EU-Beitritt Polens betrachtet, ohne die Zeit vor 2004, in der das Fundament für die Sicherheits- und Verteidigungszusammenarbeit gelegt wurde, vollkommen außen vor zu lassen

Differentiated cooperation as the mode of governance in EU foreign policy

Published online: 1 February 2023While the standard conceptualization of differentiation in the European Union (EU) focuses on differentiated integration, scholars devote less attention to differentiated cooperation. This article argues, on the contrary, that member states’ engagement in differentiated efforts in EU foreign policy manifest themselves both in the form of differentiated integration and cooperation. It elaborates an original conceptual framework for exploring differentiated cooperation as a mode of governance. Drawing on the articles in this special issue, this introduction maps empirical manifestations of differentiated cooperation in various areas and dimensions of EU foreign policy. The results of the special issue show that differentiated cooperation has mostly manifested itself in informal patterns of cooperation, with the treaty-based mechanisms being limited. As such, the special issue reflects the differentiation and informalization processes occurring not only in the EU, but also in global governance more broadly