Do National Differences Hamper CSDP? The Pragmatism of Mission Members

Abstract

European police officers’ work in the context of multinational police missions is an important component of international peace- and statebuilding. However, so far little is known about the inner life of police work in such missions. Existing research suggests that difficulties arise when police from countries with different policing models participate in the same mission. Focusing on public order policing and drawing on interviews with European police officers working in Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions of the European Union, our findings offer a more nuanced picture. Even though distinctly national styles continue to inform public order practices (trends of convergence notwithstanding), European members of multinational missions are not critical of differing approaches per se and even appreciate cross-national variation as it provides a range of options. However, their pragmatism also leads mission members to be critical towards practices they regard as not fitting local conditions in mission areas or as lacking proper planning. European Union, CSDP, police missions, transnational policing, European Foreign and Security Policy, pragmatism, public order, protest policing