Since the Kosovo conflict brought home to European countries how militarily dependent on the US they are and will remain unless big changes are made, the European Union began to take serious steps toward creating a credible unified military force. However, the proposed military force may face a number of problems which could impede its success in the future as there are constraints placed on the EU that differ from those facing sovereign states. Among them, whether the EU succeed in creating consensus on the construction and deployment of military force is significant in building the European autonomous military capability. If the answer is no, more attention need to be paid to how to create the consensus in this realm.
This essay argues that the European Union is still unable to create consensus on the construction and deployment of military force primarily due to a lack of decision-making procedures capable of overcoming dissent. Although there have been repeated attempts to overcome the drawbacks, the further improvement of consistency and effectiveness of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is required to solve this problem. Therefore, the next section observes the current consensus mechanism associated with the EU military force construction and deployment within the framework of the CFSP, and analyse its characteristics. Then Section III discusses the affecting factors with regard to the formation of this kind of consensus mechanism. Based on that, Section IV mainly focuses on how to further improve the EU consensus on the construction and deployment in the future.
II. CURRENT CONSENSUS MECHANISM OF EU MILITARY FORCE CONSTRUCTION AND DEPLOYMENT
1. The definition of consensus
In a political context, the term ‘co...
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...fecting the EU consensus formation is the question of operational finance. The EU must account for the costs of a capable military presence, including an adequate number of military personnel. According to the TEU, ‘costs of military operations are either to be charged to the member-states as common costs in accordance with the gross national product (GNP) scale, or the Council, acting unanimously, will decide to charge the expenditure on some other basis.’
In terms of operational finance, the EU has adopted the principle of ‘costs lie where they fall’. It seems fair that the system penalizes those who have capabilities twice-- once during procurement and again when those capabilities are exercised. The mechanism for financing military operations (Athena) played a role in lessen the financial burden incurred by the deployment of troops at the EU´s request. ‘Much of
The author doesn’t forget to mention the relationship between USA and NATO. He thinks that Americans welcome NATO as a weapon for America’s affairs, not of the world’s. In his final words, it is suggested that either Europe should invite USA to leave NATO or Europe should expel America from it.
On March 24, 1999, the united countries of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, under pressure from the United States, launched an illegal assault upon a sovereign nation. The evidence is overwhelming that leaders within the United State government sponsored this decision with the extreme perseverance from President of the United States. NATO should have dismissed the request for assault and involvement for it was clearly illegal. It’s perpetrators showed total disregard for Article One of the NATO Charter, which incorporates by reference the United Nations Charter, Chapter One, Article Two, Sections Three, Four and Seven. These sections make it clear that NATO’s role is to be purely defensive. The aggression that NATO has undertaken did not come from or with approval of the UN Security Council, which NATO’s Charter clearly states numerous times that the UN Security Council will convene and approve of any such matter or action. It is a brutal violation of NATO’s Charter and of all principles of international law.
Pogodda, Sandra, Oliver Richmond, Nathalie Tocci, Roger Mac Ginty, and Birte Vogel. "Assessing the impact of EU governmentality in post-conflict countries: pacification or reconciliation?." European Security (2014): 1-23.
BIBLIOGRAPHY NATO Information Service. 1989. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation: Facts and Figures. Brussels: NATO Kaplan, Lawrence S, ed. 1968. NATO And The Policy Of Containment. Boston: Raytheon Education Company. Richard D. Lawrence, and Jeffrey Record, eds. 1974. U.S. Force Structure in NATO. Washington, D.C: The Brookings Institution. Faringdon, Hugh. 1989. Strategic Geography: NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and the Superpowers. London and New York: Routledge. Knorr, Klaus. 1959. NATO And American Security. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. NATO Information Service. 1983. NATO Handbook. Brussels: NATO Coffey, Joseph I. 1997. The Future Role Of NATO. New York: Foreign Policy Association. NATO Information Service. 1984. NATO And The Warsaw Pact: Force Comparisons. Brussels: NATO Bolles, Blair, and Francis O. Wilcox. Bagby, Wesley M. 1999. America’s International Relations Since World War I. New York: Oxford University Press Rosati, Jerel A. 1999. The Politics Of United States Foreign Policy. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
...ifferent story of the EU that has not been focused on in other books or papers. This original, unbiased approach allows the reader to put the EU in a historical perspective that also helps understanding at least the changing forces. In addition, it seems that the author wants to make the public or his audience comfortable with the idea of uncertainty that has been affecting the EU. His second part shows how the current shape was not only the result of political or economic reasons, but also a response of a changing external environment. Moreover, the idea of purgatory as well as the philosophical references and analogies gives the book an exciting, unique demission that links politics, history, and philosophy. However, it would be interesting if the author has included technical analysis and incorporated political science theories to draw policy recommendations.
Both the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) are strategies developed by the European Union in regards to their dealings with the ‘outside’ world. The European Neighborhood Policy finds its obstacles in the once superpower of the Russians, and their conflicting neighborhood policy. Whereas the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy finds its obstacles through its numerous memberships which on the outside one would consider a boon of combined knowledge, but when their insurmountable differences become involved it is a burden. The European Union unfortunately has become known for being a hypocritical organization, playing the mantra ‘do as I say not as I do’. Moreover, the European Union takes its power for granted and assumes “itself as a superior embodiment of soft power and a model of peace, democracy and prosperity in the region.” After the Cold War, the EU set out to develop a new phase of expansion and integration. One of the topics related to the process of European Union integration is the concern of a European Identity, and what it means to be ‘European’. The EU has struggled to define itself as a “Multicultural community sharing a set of universal values” , conversely defining what it means by ‘multiculturalism’ has become the center of political conflict within its governments. The conundrum may be if the European Union wants to keep the European feeling, then why should it bring in a country that is not European? But then again what is European? The debate over this term is one that surrounds the history of Europe and the possible futures available for the European Union. Is the EU or any nations allowed within it defined by the geographic constructs shown on th...
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
International organizations such as NATO and the UN are essential not only for global peace, but also as a place where middle powers can exert their influence. It is understandable that since the inception of such organizations that many crises have been averted, resolved, or dealt with in some way thro...
Creation of NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a regional defense alliance created by the North Atlantic Treaty. NATO's purpose is to improve the strength, well-being, and freedom of its members through a system of collective security. Members of the alliance agree to defend one another from attacks by other nations or by terrorist groups. NATO has its head office in Brussels, Belgium. "
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
Europe will not run the 21st century because of a combination of economic, institutional, and cultural factors. However, for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on the economic aspects of European society that will impede EU ascendency. I do not believe that the EU will cease to exist in the coming century, but I do believe it will become obsolete because it will be unable to make the necessary changes to their demographic problems, defense policies, and economic culture in response to the increasing American ascendency. Europe has long been known as the continent home to the great powers of the world. From Caesar to Napoleon to the British Empire, the European empires have continuously been at the helm of the ship of progress. The wars of the 20th century however, left Europe in a wake of destruction and chaos period before. The continent was devastated and had little hope to recover. In this new era of European descent, the great American Era came into existence. The US, one of the remaining superpowers, became the helping hand that Europe needed. With the aid allocated by the Marshall Plan and the creation of programs and institutions, Europe had a future. The creation of the European Union (EU) united the European countries over the common goal of preventing war another war. The United States intended for these programs to be a stepping-stone to build the economic and institutional powers of Europe, because a stronger Europe was good for the US. However, instead of using these as a springboard to create self-reliant union, the EU remains reliant on US military and hard power to support them their social efforts.
Forgue, D.G., Kehoskie, N.S. 2007. ‘Enlargement Fatigue in the European Union’. International Law News. Vol 36 (2). Spring 2007. Pp 1-2.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is a regional security based organization. This organization is unique in many ways and has been contributing to the security of its members and neighbors since 1975. The OSCE has had a busy history from the Cold War and beyond. With the end of the Cold War major shifts have come about in the area of international security that this organization primarily deals with. The OSCE is now facing a new era where it needs to convince its members that it still has a role to play.
Curtis, B., & Linser, W. (2004). NATO and EU Enlargement: Challenges for the New Europe . University of Washington. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://jsis.washington.edu/cwes/file/nato_and_eu_curriculum.pdf
Because it could be quite complicated to look at the EU model from a point of classical democratic nation-state, it seems to be reasonable to discuss this problem, not by abstract reasoning, but by focusing on a concrete case. European Union is the best case available, which in recent decades has developed into a new type of political system with enormous consequences on democracy and governance in its member states. Despite repeated attempts for major institutional reforms, this system is likely to persist in its basic structures for the future and is unlikely to develop into a federal state or to disintegrate into a classic international organization. The present state of democracy and governance in the EU is therefore worth to be analyzed, as it is not a mere transitory state.