The European Union in Global Security ― The Politics of Impact

Does the EU matter in international security? How can the deployment of EU crisis management operations to different regions of the world be explained? What have been their effects on the EU and its member states, on host states and societies, and on other international security providers? The authors identify and explain the drivers of and brakes to EU foreign security action and offer methods of assessment to ascertain influence. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of EU security operations utilizing extensive primary resources and fieldwork, the authors conclude that the union has become a niche international security provider. However, the Common Security and Defense Policy, like other policy sectors of the EU, will remain a work-in-progress, partly finished, partly effective, and yet of interest to a world that has always expected more of the union than it has been willing to give. This new edition includes a postscript that provides updated coverage of EU foreign policy activity, crisis management operations, and decision-making changes since 2012.

Roy H. Ginsberg is Professor of Government at Skidmore College, USA where he holds the Jean Monnet Professorship in European Integration Studies. He is the author of The European Union in International Politics: Baptism by Fire and Demystifying the European Union: The Enduring Logic of Regional Integration.

Susan E. Penksa is Professor of Political Science at Westmont College, USA; Senior Associate at the Institute for European Studies, Brussels, Belgium; and an international security and development consultant. She received a United States J. William Fulbright Fellowship to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007-2008 and a follow-on Fulbright award in 2010. Her recent publications focus on CSDP, security governance and security sector reform.