Theorising the European Union As an International Security Provider

The European Union has increasingly taken on a role as international security provider that extends beyond the geographical scope of its membership. This is clear from the wide range of military and civilian crisis management missions that the Union has undertaken, but also identifiable through its other policies, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy and development assistance, which have also to some extent become security focused. Yet, the role of the EU as an international security provider remains under-theorized and weakly understood.
The proposed book analyses the Union’s role as an international security provider in a comprehensive way developing theoretical as well as empirical grounding for the understanding of the making and implementation of EU security policy. The contributions in this book cover actors involved in the policy making process, the dynamics of this process itself, its outcomes (strategies and policies) and their impact on the ground. They examine the relevance of, and apply, existing theories of international relations, international security and foreign policy analysis to the specific case of the EU, investigate empirically how particular policies are formulated and implemented, and study the impact and effectiveness of the Union as an international security provider in a variety of cases compared. This book was previously published as a special issue ofGlobal Society.

Annemarie Peen Rodt is Associate Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark. Her research focuses on EU and Security Provision, and current projects include ‘Improving Effectiveness of Capabilities in EU Conflict Prevention’, and ‘Preventing and Responding to Conflict: Developing EU Civilian Capabilities'. Associate Professor Rodt is author ofEuropean Union and Military Conflict Management (Routledge, 2014), and, with Stefan Wolff, ‘Self-determination after Kosovo’, in Europe-Asia Studies.

Richard G. Whitman is Professor of Politics and International Relations and Director of the Global Europe Centre, University of Kent. He is an Associate Fellow of Chatham House. His current research interests include external relations and foreign, security and defence policies of the European Union, as well its governance and future priorities.

Stefan Wolff is Professor of International Security and Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. He is an expert on international crisis management and post-conflict state-building and has been engaged in conflict settlement negotiations, including in Moldova, Iraq, Sudan and Yemen.