The European Union and Human Security: The Making of a Global Security Actor

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Solana
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Security ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Security ◽  
Security Actor

3. Engaging the World

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Edwards
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Security ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The World ◽  
Security Actor ◽  
Small Member

This chapter examines the ways in which the European Union enters into international relations and engages with key processes in the world arena. It first provides a historical background on the interaction of an evolving EU with the rest of the world before discussing the main patterns of relationships and interactions in the areas in which Europe has been active. It then considers two centres of enduring tensions in the EU's external engagement: EU's engagement with processes of international cooperation and conflict, and with processes of global governance. It also looks at tensions that arise between the collective ‘European’ and national positions. They are between: Europeanization and national foreign policy; rhetoric and achievement; big and small member states; old and new Europe; and the concept of civilian power Europe and the EU as an international security actor with access to military forces.

scholarly journals The Limits of the EU as a Peace and Security Actor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike Froitzheim ◽  
Fredrik Söderbaum ◽  
Ian Taylor
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Test Case ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Organizational Complexity ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Global Peace ◽  
Security Actor ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is increasingly aspiring to be a global peace and security actor. Using the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a test case to analyse such ambitions, this article reveals that the EU's attempts to build peace and security are severely compromised by its bureaucratic and organizational complexity as well as by its ineffective policies. In fact, the EU's state-centred approach in the DRC has resulted in the EU's inability to deal with 1) the realities of governance in the DRC and 2) the strong trans-border dimensions of the conflict. As a result, the EU continues to lack a coherent strategy for the DRC, despite a large budget. The analysis concludes that the EU is more concerned with establishing a symbolic presence and a form of representation than with achieving specific goals.

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