1. 1 The European Union in International Politics – What Kind of an Actor? Dr. Michael Meimeth

2. 2 Introduction The purpose of the European Integration  to make war impossible between the states of Europe  to promote peace, stability and welfare among the European nations  to promote a stable and peaceful international order

3. 3 Introduction The purpose of this lecture  how does the EU‘s self-image as an international actor look like?  does the EU‘s self-image correspond to its specific internal structure and purpose?  does the EU have a distinctive quality in terms of an international actor?

4. 4 Introduction The topics of this lecture  European Union – a civilian power in international affairs?  European Union – a great power in international affairs?  European Union as an international actor – trends  EU in international politics – what kind of an actor?

5. 5 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 1.Definitions  a state or a group of states long of economic power and relatively short on armed forces committed to „domesticate“ relations betweenb states (Duchêne, 1973)  an actor which uses civilian means for persuasion, to pursue civilian ends, and whose foreign policy decision-making process is subjected to democratic control (Smith, 2004)

6. 6 I. European Union as a Civilian Power 2. Features  willingness to constrain the use of force and to focus primarily on economic means  willingness to strengthen multilateral cooperation  effort to promote of democracy and human rights both within and between the states  effort to promote non-violent conflict resolution and –management  effort to promote social equality and sustainable development

7. 7 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 3. Purpose … is to „domesticate“ international relations:  multilateralism replaces unilateralism  rule of law replaces traditional power politics  promoting supranational structures by transforming the notion of sovereignity  transcending the „Westphalian System“

8. 8 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 4.The EU should be a Civilian Power  because of its unique and innovative internal political and institutional structure  otherwise it would give up the key values of the European Integration process

9. 9 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 5.The EU could be a Civilian Power  although still a major actor in international politics, the role of the state has been weakened  globalisation and interdependence as the dominant features of the international system  security is becoming more and more comprehensive

10. 10 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 6.The EU is a Civilian Power  EU excercises influence and shapes its environment through what it is rather than what it does  EU has specific structural power to shape its international environment  EU‘s international role is based on an anti-hegemonic philosophy and is seen as a „force for good“ in the world

11. 11 I. The European Union as a Civilian Power 7.The Problems  ignoring the strategic-political context of the European Integration  overstating the importance of the rule of law  depending on a shared understanding about the global role of the EU, its values and ideas  being largely reductionist

12. 12 II. The European Union as a Great Power 1. Features  full spectrum of power resources  prominent role of military power  willingness and ability to use hard power resources coercively  willingness to assume international responsibility  special contribution to international order

13. 13 II. European Union as a Great Power 2.The international context matters  states are operating under the conditions of anarchy  anarchy leads to a permament security competition  states cannot escape from anarchy  balancing is the predominant tendency in international politics  states have a strong interest in shaping a benign international environment

14. 14 II. The European Union as a Great Power 3.The virtues of anarchy  specific distribution of power between states conditions and constrains the formation of specific balance-of-power systems  balance-of-power systems contain tendencies for dominance in international politics  balance-of-power systems provide favorable conditions for stable cooperation in international politics

15. 15 II. The European Union as a Great Power 4. The EU‘ s Purpose as a Great Power  Europe as a „third force“ between the US and the USSR  the EU as an answer to challenges of globalisation  the EU as a balancer of the „unipolar moment“  the EU as a contributor to a stable multipolar pluralistic and cooperative world order  the EU as an autonomous actor in military crisis management on its own terms and resources  the EU as a provider of stability in its near abroad

16. 16 II. The European Union as a Great Power 5.Problems  concept of great power is to much focused on EU‘s ability to build up its military capabilities  concept of great power requires a full statehood of the EU  developing into a great power the EU might contribute to a more conflict prone international system.

17. 17 1.EU as a civilian power:  eschewing traditional power politics  acting as a „force of good“ in the world  EU is playing a distinctive role in international politics 2. EU as a great power:  reacting to the pressures of the international system  balancing policy an important feature  strong interest in shaping a benign international environment by using intruments of coercion and consent  EU is acting as a „normal“ power in international politics The European Union as an international actor – two perspectives

18. 18 III. The European Union as an International Actor - Trends 1.The EU in the Global Economy  European Single Market as the largest internal economic market in the world  EU of 27 is one of the most important trading blocs in the world economy  EU is speakingwith one voice in dealing with third countries and international organisations  EMU and Single Currency as an increased leverage in the international monetary system

19. 19 III. The European Union as an International Actor - Trends 2. The EU in international diplomacy  major progress on the institutional level in the last decades  significant political moves in the last decades  significant gaps and shortcomings in the field of CFSP

20. 20 III. The European Union as a International Actor - Trends 3. The EU as a Military Actor  decisions to create and improve EU‘s military capabilities  major peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations in the Balkans and in Africa  European Security Strategy (2003) and Report on the Implementation of the European Security Strategy (2008) as key documents

21. 21 III. The European Union as an International Actor - Trends 4. The EU as a Military Actor  ESS and Report of 2008 as key documents of the CFSDP  EU as a global actor in international (military) crisis and conflict management  EU as a unique actor in the management of international security issues  EU as a comprehensive actor in the management of international security issues

22. 22 III. The European Union as an International Actor - Trends 5. The EU as a Military Actor  ESS and Report of 2008 – comprehensive but ambiguous  EU‘s comprehensive security approach: lowest common denominator, result of a lack of resources or based on a sustainable consensus?  CFSDP: primarily normative-idealistic or primarily interest based?  EU: regional power or global player?

23. 23 III. The EU as an International Actor - Trends 6. Shortcomings  intergovernmentalism instead of supranationalism  heterogenity instead of homogenity  national european visions instead of genuin european visions

24. 24 IV.EU as an International Actor – Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 1.Why France and Germany?  Franco-German understanding vital for any progress in the European Integration process  France and Germany pretend to assume a leadership role in European affairs  France and Germany differ on major issues on EU‘s international actorness

25. 25 IV. EU as an international Actor – Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 2.Major differences between France and Germany  concerning the structure of the world order: multipolar or multilateral?  concerning the importance of military power in international politics

26. 26 IV. Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 3. Why should the world be multipolar – the French perspective:  counterbalancing the unipolar moment in world politics promoted by the US  counterbalancing the unilateral moment in world politics promoted by the US  stable world order must be based on a number of regional poles

27. 27 IV. Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 4. The Franco – American dispute – the reasons  similar goals but competing desires to lead  different approaches to international issues and problems  constant power imblances in favor of the US

28. 28 IV. Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 5. The dilemma of the multipolar conception  EU has to be developped into regional pole  EU as a regional pole only in consent with France‘s European partners

29. 29 IV. Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 6.Multilateral and not multipolar – the German perspective  strong preference on promoting a cooperative multilateralism in world politics  polarity or multipolarity is of secondary importance

30. 30 IV. Diverging Concepts in France and Germany 7.Franco-German differences on the role of military power  France – military power a crucial component of its security policy  Germany – still reluctant in using military power  Germany – participation in collective military operations primarily influenced by political considerations  ubiquity of risks (Germany) versus strategic axes (France)  Diverging strategic cultures in the public

31. 31 V. Conclusions The EU – what kind of an international actor?  EU is not and will not develop into a great power!  EU is a civilian power by purpose!  EU is a civilising power provided with strong structural power and the attribute of a regional collective hegemon!

32. 32 V. Conclusions The EU as an international actor – where do we go from here?  the relative decline and weakness of the EU member states will be strongest input for improving EU‘s international actorness!  While EU‘s overall capabilities as an international actor will substantially grow in the future, its behaviour will not fundamentally change!