The European Union as a Small Power

Abstract

With the creation of a common foreign and security policy (CFSP), the EU has entered the realm of power politics. Although the ambition to become a great power has been frequently reiterated, the EU has often failed to deliver stated policy objectives. This article has two broad goals. One is to outline the strategic behavioural patterns of small powers. The lack of scholarly attention to these states -the largest group in the international system -is a major omission from the International Relations canon. The other is to see how EU patterns of behaviour, exemplified in attempts to build up capacities for military intervention, overlap with those of a small power. The article argues that the concept of a small power best captures the reality of the EU as a strategic actor. Consequently, the EU is more comparable to other small powers such as Sweden or Argentina rather than to great powers such as China or Russia.

El impacto de la cooperación estructurada permanente (CEP) sobre la comunidad de seguridad europea

“…Además, podríamos hacer referencia al hecho de que a la UE se la catalogó dentro de lo que se ha venido denominando, como "Small Power" 65 . De hecho, seguiría cumpliendo los principales factores 66 que demanda la naturaleza propia de este tipo de poder, ya que manifiesta desde un punto de vista estratégico una cierta dependencia.…”

Astrategic Europe

“…Others, arguing from a normative standpoint (in terms of what they believe the EU should do), suggest that the EU needs a grand strategy (as opposed to what was or is presumably an existing not-so-grand strategy), which would more clearly define the EU's objectives and better integrate the various elements of EU power and policy (Biscop, 2009;Howorth, 2010). In contrast, Toje argues that if one examines the actual strategic behaviour of the EU it is better understood as that of a small power (as opposed to a great power), in terms of being strongly supportive of international norms and institutions and wary of the use of force (Toje, 2011).…”

European Union grand strategy and defense: strategy, sovereignty, and political union

“…In 2011 a special issue of Contemporary Security Policy was devoted to CSDP and strategic culture with articles on different aspects of EU security policy and strategic culture from various theoretical perspectives (Schmidt and Zyla, 2011;Haglund, 2011;Norheim-Martinsen, 2011;Pentland, 2011;Schmidt, 2011;Haines, 2011;Kammel, 2011;Peters, 2011;Zyla, 2011). A similarly theoretically-aware collection of articles on CSDP was also published as a special issue of Journal of Common Market Studies in 2011 using Foucaultian theory, policy networks, realism, social constructivism, institutionalism and varieties of social theory (Bickerton, Irondelle and Menon, 2011;Toje 2011;Meyer and Strickmann, 2011;Menon 2011;Hofmann, 2011;Merand, Hofmann and Irondelle, 2011;Merlingen 2011;Bickerton, 2011).…”