Strategic autonomy under the spotlight


Book Description

Strategic autonomy is the latest fashionable concept, in Paris and Brussels alike. It appears no fewer than 24 times in the most recent French strategic review and there is not a single European strategic document, however insignifi cant, that makes no mention of it.




Strategic Autonomy and Economic Power


Book Description

This book examines the effect of economic power on a state’s strategic autonomy. Strategic autonomy is a fundamental condition for the availability of strategic options in the interaction of states. This book provides the first clear operational definition of the concept and offers an analysis of the relevance of the national economy to strategic autonomy. The main sources of economic power – size of the economy, position in trade and technological networks, savings, wealth, and finance – and their impact on strategic autonomy are analyzed in depth. The strategic governance of the national economy is also addressed as a way of ensuring that national economic power can work as strategic power for a country, providing it with strategic autonomy. The strategies pursued by China – which in under four decades has gone from an underdeveloped state to the main challenger of the dominant world power – and Germany – which, despite being defeated in World War II, having no nuclear weapons and having chosen to be a "civilian power", became the dominant power in Europe – are analyzed in depth, as two paradigmatic examples of the theory developed by the book. This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, economics, foreign policy and International Relations.




The Routledge Handbook of European Security Law and Policy


Book Description

The Handbook of European Security Law and Policy offers a holistic discussion of the contemporary challenges to the security of the European Union and emphasizes the complexity of dealing with these through legislation and policy. Considering security from a human perspective, the book opens with a general introduction to the key issues in European Security Law and Policy before delving into three main areas. Institutions, policies and mechanisms used by Security, Defence Policy and Internal Affairs form the conceptual framework of the book; at the same time, an extensive analysis of the risks and challenges facing the EU, including threats to human rights and sustainability, as well as the European Union’s legal and political response to these challenges, is provided. This Handbook is essential reading for scholars and students of European law, security law, EU law and interdisciplinary legal and political studies.




Europe's Foreign and Security Policy


Book Description

The emergence of a common security and foreign policy has been one of the most contentious issues accompanying the integration of the European Union. In this book, Michael Smith examines the specific ways foreign policy cooperation has been institutionalized in the EU, the way institutional development affects cooperative outcomes in foreign policy, and how those outcomes lead to new institutional reforms. Smith explains the evolution and performance of the institutional procedures of the EU using a unique analytical framework, supported by extensive empirical evidence drawn from interviews, case studies, official documents and secondary sources. His perceptive and well-informed analysis covers the entire history of EU foreign policy cooperation, from its origins in the late 1960s up to the start of the 2003 constitutional convention. Demonstrating the importance and extent of EU foreign/security policy, the book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and policy-makers.




Competition Law of the European Union


Book Description

This new Sixth Edition of a major work by the well-known competition law team at Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels brings the book up to date to take account of the many developments in the case law and relevant legislation that have occurred since the Fifth Edition in 2010. The authors have also taken the opportunity to write a much-extended chapter on private enforcement and a dedicated section on competition law in the pharmaceutical sector. As one would expect, the new edition continues to meet the challenge for businesses and their counsel, providing a thoroughly practical guide to the application of the EU competition rules. The critical commentary cuts through the theoretical underpinnings of EU competition law to expose its actual impact on business. In this comprehensive new edition, the authors examine such notable developments as the following: important rulings concerning the concept of a restriction by object under Article 101; the extensive case law in the field of cartels, including in relation to cartel facilitation and price signalling; important Article 102 rulings concerning pricing and exclusivity, including the Post Danmark and Intel judgments, as well as standard essential patents; the current block exemption and guidelines applicable to vertical agreements, including those applicable to the motor vehicle sector; developments concerning online distribution, including the Pierre Fabre and Coty rulings; the current guidelines and block exemptions in the field of horizontal cooperation, including the treatment of information exchange; the evolution of EU merger control, including court defeats suffered by the Commission and the case law on procedural infringements; the burgeoning case law related to pharmaceuticals, including concerning reverse payment settlements; the current technology transfer guidelines and block exemption; procedural developments, including in relation to the right to privacy, access to file, parental liability, fining methodology, inability to pay and hybrid settlements; the implementation of the Damages Directive and the first interpretative rulings. As a comprehensive, up-to-date and above all practical analysis of the EU competition rules as developed by the Commission and EU Courts, this authoritative new edition of a classic work stands alone. Like its predecessors, it will be of immeasurable value to both business persons and their legal advisers.




Alliances and Power Politics in the Trump Era


Book Description

This volume examines the evolution of US foreign policy since Donald Trump’s accession to the presidency and the strategic challenges confronting the United States in a changing geopolitical environment. Trump has delivered on his promises to break with past policies and this has, for the most part, revealed a policy of retrenchment that has jeopardized US alliances. The book focuses on the current state and future of transatlantic relations, on Washington’s policy in the Middle East and Africa, on the administration’s use of the economic weapon in international relations, but also on the American response to the return of great power competition in the face of an assertive China and resurgent Russia. The contributions gather the inputs of a transatlantic community of scholars combining academics, think-tank fellows, former policy-makers and administration officials from both sides of the Atlantic.




European Strategic Autonomy and Small States' Security


Book Description

This book analyses whether the EU’s drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states’ perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU’s institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.




The EU Common Security and Defence Policy


Book Description

Presenting the first analytical overview of the legal foundations of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), this book provides a detailed examination of the law and practice of the EU's security policy. The European Union's security and defence policy has long been the focus of political scientists and international relations experts. However, it has more recently become of increasing relevance to lawyers too. Since the early 2000s, the EU has carried out more than two dozen security and defence missions in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The EU institutions are keen to stress the security dimension of other external policies also, such as development cooperation, and the Lisbon Treaty introduces a more detailed set of rules and procedures which govern the CSDP. This book provides a legal analysis of the Union's CSDP by examining the nexus of its substantive, institutional, and economic dimensions. Taking as its starting point the historical development of security and defence in the context of European integration, it outlines the legal framework created by the rules and procedures introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. It examines the military operations and civilian missions undertaken by the Union, and looks at the policy context within which they are carried out. It analyses the international agreements concluded in this field and explores the links between the CSDP and other external policies of the Union.




Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere Strategy and U.S. Southern Command


Book Description

Since its creation in 1963, United States Southern Command has been led by 30 senior officers representing all four of the armed forces. None has undertaken his leadership responsibilities with the cultural sensitivity and creativity demonstrated by Admiral Jim Stavridis during his tenure in command. Breaking with tradition, Admiral Stavridis discarded the customary military model as he organized the Southern Command Headquarters. In its place he created an organization designed not to subdue adversaries, but instead to build durable and enduring partnerships with friends. His observation that it is the business of Southern Command to launch "ideas not missiles" into the command's area of responsibility gained strategic resonance throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America, and at the highest levels in Washington, DC.




Turning the Tide


Book Description

The transatlantic partnership is in crisis (again!). Structural factors, toxic political rhetoric and malign foreign influence are in danger of pushing the two sides of the Atlantic even further apart. A sustained effort to rescue the transatlantic relationship is needed, but how can the transatlantic partners reaffirm the strength and endurance of their strategic bond? And where to begin? This book offers an overarching view of the major factors, trends and areas that are likely to shape transatlantic relations as the 2020s unfold. Rather than focus on how to defuse transatlantic disagreements over politically sensitive issues such as relations with China, Russia and Iran, this volume explores less researched, but equally consequential aspects of the transatlantic partnership. These include the cultural, military, security and democratic foundations of transatlantic relations, as well as the new geographical and thematic horizons for the strategic partnership and the new forums and formats for transatlantic cooperation. Collectively, they could create new space for dialogue, compromise and cooperation and provide a strong basis for reviving the transatlantic partnership.