Reading Paper #17: “European Security and Defense Policy Demystified Nation-Building and Identity in the European Union”

Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson April 22, 2021 Reading Paper #16: “European Security and Defense Policy Demystified Nation-Building and Identity in the European Union” Authors: Stephanie Anderson -- Head of the UW’s School of Public Policy and International Studies, varied education in European issues through her education, specific focuses on European integration and European Security Policy. Thomas Seitz -- Professor for UW’s SPPAIS, research focus on nation-building as a part of foreign policy and democratization process. Published: Through “Armed Forces & Society”, Volume 33 Number 1, is a peer reviewed academic magazine published quarterly by Sage Publications, a highly-reputable source. Date: October 2006, during this year in relation to Europe and the European Union: Austria and Finland assume the Presidency of the EU, the European Commission launches a white paper on communication policy, the Commission adopts a green paper on the European Transparency Initiative, and the European Parliament adopted the Bolkestein Directive. These events all tie into the arguments made in the paper regarding ESDP as well as broader notions of European integration and unity. Thesis: The genesis of ESDP isn't solely based to counter US military forces or to build up European military assets, but rather as an additional tool to promote European integration. Gist: Different researchers and academics have different theories and opinions as to how and why ESDP has taken shape in Europe and how the view of Europe as a “Kantian paradise” with no military has culturally followed the region when developing their security policies. Pursuing ESDP will be an ongoing mission for Europe regardless of the protection that is granted for NATO because of the powers it could hold for a further integration and pride of Europe unified. Telling Examples: 1) The EU Swaggers: The United States and the Rhetoric of European Security Policy, the paper argues that viewing this issue throughout the Robert Act the authors write: “With an artificial entity such as the European Union, such pride is a necessary tool to encourage cohesiveness. French President Jacques Chirac went so far as to say, “The European Union will not fully exist until it possesses an autonomous capacity for action.” (34) 2) Why Nation-Building in Europe?, according to the paper, the EU faces a difficult challenge because integration and popular support for further integration in Europe has lost momentum. They build on this idea with, “Popular enthusiasm for the integration project is further strained by the rapid, east- ward expansion of the European Union itself” (32), relating in ways to our previous course discussions of the impacts of migration and xenophobia on Europe. 3) Is America from Mars and Europe from Venus?, It’s interesting to revisit the theme of one of our earliest readings in this course, the dichotomy that exists between militarization between the US and Europe and how that display of “hard” power over “soft” power has real implications for the tone of the NATO and Atlantic relationship. The authors write that this different notion of a peaceful, Kantian Europe is unfounded, “Europeans live neither in a bubble nor in a Kantian perpetual peace machine. Almost every country in Europe has been facing issues of terrorism far longer than America has.” (29) Criticism: This was an interesting read that flipped the script on our notions of why and how ESDP has developed. It’s also always entertaining to read an academic paper written by you professors (and one of my advisors in this case) and see how their lectures and academic ideas translate into academic written works.