The Council call to arms, Mogherini to the rescue?: Are statements of intent a sign of Grand Strategy or does CSDP remain hamstrung by state inertia and bureaucratic incrementalism

Simon  Sweeney

The Council call to arms, Mogherini to the rescue? Are statements of intent a sign of Grand Strategy or does CSDP remain hamstrung by state inertia and bureaucratic incrementalism

The York Management School

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

The European Council in December 2013 assured us that ‘Defence matters’ and apparently set the course for uplift in EU intent and capability in the fields of security and defence. In June 2015 the Council went further, instructing the High Representative for the Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to deliver a ‘common, comprehensive and consistent EU global strategy’ that could secure deliverables based on this ambition. This paper suggests that her task is compromised by the very nature of CSDP implementation: the policy remains hamstrung by a bureaucratic politics that means incremental gains are issue specific and based on lowest common denominator agreement. A global strategy moreover requires states to make and act upon full commitment. Without this, CSDP cannot respond effectively to any Grand or Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP. She may offer a road map and a compass but without member states’ collective consent and political will to supply adequate resources, CSDP will remain a Cinderella policy in the face of regional, let alone global challenges. The paper also points out that while growing security threats make a Global Strategy and its implementation an even greater imperative, the Union and member states are distracted by existential crises at the present time. These are likely to marginalise any Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP in the coming days. This compounds the risk that a Global Strategy becomes merely another example of grand rhetoric rather than a sign of an overdue arrival at and implementation of grand strategy.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	BISA Annual Conference
Publication status	Published - 15 Jun 2016

Cite this

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title = "The Council call to arms, Mogherini to the rescue?: Are statements of intent a sign of Grand Strategy or does CSDP remain hamstrung by state inertia and bureaucratic incrementalism",

abstract = "The European Council in December 2013 assured us that {\textquoteleft}Defence matters{\textquoteright} and apparently set the course for uplift in EU intent and capability in the fields of security and defence. In June 2015 the Council went further, instructing the High Representative for the Union{\textquoteright}s Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to deliver a {\textquoteleft}common, comprehensive and consistent EU global strategy{\textquoteright} that could secure deliverables based on this ambition. This paper suggests that her task is compromised by the very nature of CSDP implementation: the policy remains hamstrung by a bureaucratic politics that means incremental gains are issue specific and based on lowest common denominator agreement. A global strategy moreover requires states to make and act upon full commitment. Without this, CSDP cannot respond effectively to any Grand or Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP. She may offer a road map and a compass but without member states{\textquoteright} collective consent and political will to supply adequate resources, CSDP will remain a Cinderella policy in the face of regional, let alone global challenges. The paper also points out that while growing security threats make a Global Strategy and its implementation an even greater imperative, the Union and member states are distracted by existential crises at the present time. These are likely to marginalise any Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP in the coming days. This compounds the risk that a Global Strategy becomes merely another example of grand rhetoric rather than a sign of an overdue arrival at and implementation of grand strategy.",

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N2 - The European Council in December 2013 assured us that ‘Defence matters’ and apparently set the course for uplift in EU intent and capability in the fields of security and defence. In June 2015 the Council went further, instructing the High Representative for the Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to deliver a ‘common, comprehensive and consistent EU global strategy’ that could secure deliverables based on this ambition. This paper suggests that her task is compromised by the very nature of CSDP implementation: the policy remains hamstrung by a bureaucratic politics that means incremental gains are issue specific and based on lowest common denominator agreement. A global strategy moreover requires states to make and act upon full commitment. Without this, CSDP cannot respond effectively to any Grand or Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP. She may offer a road map and a compass but without member states’ collective consent and political will to supply adequate resources, CSDP will remain a Cinderella policy in the face of regional, let alone global challenges. The paper also points out that while growing security threats make a Global Strategy and its implementation an even greater imperative, the Union and member states are distracted by existential crises at the present time. These are likely to marginalise any Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP in the coming days. This compounds the risk that a Global Strategy becomes merely another example of grand rhetoric rather than a sign of an overdue arrival at and implementation of grand strategy.

AB - The European Council in December 2013 assured us that ‘Defence matters’ and apparently set the course for uplift in EU intent and capability in the fields of security and defence. In June 2015 the Council went further, instructing the High Representative for the Union’s Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, to deliver a ‘common, comprehensive and consistent EU global strategy’ that could secure deliverables based on this ambition. This paper suggests that her task is compromised by the very nature of CSDP implementation: the policy remains hamstrung by a bureaucratic politics that means incremental gains are issue specific and based on lowest common denominator agreement. A global strategy moreover requires states to make and act upon full commitment. Without this, CSDP cannot respond effectively to any Grand or Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP. She may offer a road map and a compass but without member states’ collective consent and political will to supply adequate resources, CSDP will remain a Cinderella policy in the face of regional, let alone global challenges. The paper also points out that while growing security threats make a Global Strategy and its implementation an even greater imperative, the Union and member states are distracted by existential crises at the present time. These are likely to marginalise any Global Strategy articulated by the HR-VP in the coming days. This compounds the risk that a Global Strategy becomes merely another example of grand rhetoric rather than a sign of an overdue arrival at and implementation of grand strategy.

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