A common European approach in security matters is a historical undertaking for the European Union. Why did such an approach (ESDP) materialise in 1999? Special attention has to be drawn to the role of the United Kingdom, for in the 1990s it was the one major European actor who constantly objected any steps toward European security integration. The paper identifies shifts in British domestic configurations as the main source for the subsequent preference shift in UK foreign policy. While the Kosovo crisis played the role of an external catalyst, change in government, the influence of an epistemic community, and new ideas are of deeper importance.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. British preference change on Europe
2.1. The Major government
2.2. The Blair government
3. The mechanism that led to St Malo
3.1. New causal ideas as road maps
3.2. The impact of an epistemic community
3.3. The catalytic effect of the Kosovo crisis
4. Alternative explanations
4.1. Modified neorealist foreign policy theory
4.2. Transnational constructivist foreign policy theory
5. Conclusion
6. References
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper investigates the causal mechanisms behind the shift in British policy that enabled the launch of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in 1999, specifically focusing on why the United Kingdom transitioned from a position of obstruction to one of active support.
- The influence of domestic political change (the 1997 election) on British foreign policy preferences.
- The emergence of new "causal ideas" serving as road maps for political action.
- The role of a specific epistemic community in shaping governmental security strategy.
- The catalytic effect of the Kosovo crisis on policy implementation.
- A critical evaluation of systemic versus sub-systemic theoretical approaches to foreign policy change.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2. The impact of an epistemic community
Often, we can not trace ideas to specific persons or groups of persons. In this case, however, we seem to know at least who made ideas prominent: both within and outside government (in a larger sense), specific individuals anticipated and probably shaped the shift that was made public at Pörtschach and St Malo.54
By the mid-1990s, officials of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as well as analysts in think-tanks, were aware of the dangerous implications for NATO that derived from the American burden-sharing debate, and began to think of setting up European capacities to solve such crises as the one observed in Bosnia.55 By 1996/97, this small epistemic community, not more than 24 persons,56 had developed the idea of abandoning the WEU as transmission-belt between Europe and Washington/NATO, and setting up a framework of direct relations between NATO and EU, which then would be provided with its own structures for security policy, including the military dimension. 57
In particular, a confidential FCO memorandum, by Robert Cooper, and publications of the Centre for European Reform elaborated on the new causal ideas. The Cooper memorandum, requested in May 1998, towards the end of the not-so-successful British EU Presidency in terms of security co-operation, and later refined in the Cabinet Office, was on maximising the potential of Britain’s future in Europe. It proposed to supplant the WEU by building an EU defence capability within NATO,58 in order to “act independently in the defence field”. 59 Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform argued that defence is a logical area for Britain to assume leadership in Europe, given its capacities only matched by France, that defence and security would be a suitable reform area considered the institutional “mess” involving NATO, WEU, and EU, and that by symbolically reversing the traditional alignment with Washington the UK could radically improve its image within Europe without great substantial concessions.60
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the puzzling "lift-off" of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in 1999 and defines the core research question regarding the British policy shift.
2. British preference change on Europe: The author contrasts the Euro-sceptic Major government with the pro-European stance of the Blair administration, highlighting the role of the parliamentary median voter.
3. The mechanism that led to St Malo: This section explores how new causal ideas, the influence of an epistemic community, and the Kosovo crisis combined to create the St Malo declaration.
4. Alternative explanations: The author evaluates modified neorealist and transnational constructivist theories against the inductive findings of the study.
5. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, arguing that a combination of rational interests and constructivist idea-shaping was essential for the policy outcome.
6. References: Provides a comprehensive bibliography of the literature and sources used in the analysis.
Keywords
European Security and Defence Policy, ESDP, United Kingdom, St Malo, Tony Blair, John Major, Causal ideas, Epistemic community, Kosovo crisis, Foreign policy, Preference change, NATO, Liberal IR theory, Constructivism, Neorealism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines the fundamental shift in British foreign policy that allowed for the creation of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in 1999, after decades of British obstructionism.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the role of state preferences, the function of "causal ideas" as political road maps, the influence of specialized policy networks, and the impact of external events like the Kosovo crisis.
What is the central research question?
The primary question is: "Why did the UK agree to a common European security policy in 1998?"
What scientific methodology is utilized?
The author applies an empirical-inductive methodology within a single case study to trace the process of preference change and the development of causal mechanisms.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body analyzes the transition from the Major to the Blair government, the specific causal ideas regarding NATO and EU relations, and the role of experts in guiding ministerial decisions.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include ESDP, St Malo, British foreign policy, causal ideas, epistemic communities, and preference change.
How does the author define the "lift-off" of ESDP?
The author uses "lift-off" metaphorically to describe the rapid institutional and material progress made in European defense policy following the Cologne and Helsinki summits in 1999.
What is the significance of the St Malo declaration?
It represents the symbolic and fundamental shift in British policy toward approving autonomous EU military capacity, which effectively enabled the development of the ESDP.
- Quote paper
- Frank Stadelmaier (Author), 2005, Governmental Change and New Causal Ideas in Britain. Why ESDP Lifted Off in 1999, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/38630
