Rocío Lougedo Novillo Master Thesis Assessing Coherence Within the CSDP A Top-Down Analysis of Military Capabilities Developed in the EU in the last Twenty Years Abstract in English Ever since the establishment of the European Security and Defense Policy in 1999, the European Union has strived to develop a more holistic and coherent foreign policy apparatus. This paper examines this 20-year process of military capabilities reform in order to assess the level of coherence in the field of defense and security policy. For this purpose, this thesis sets a Top-Down analytical framework built around five variables specifically designed for measuring capabilities. Through this framework, and based on the pertinent data gathered, this study will assess the global level of coherence (or incoherence) among targets, expectations and outputs, as well as it will identify the perils and uncertainties that could jeopardize further integration on the European defense sphere.

This dissertation seeks to assess the degree of integration in the sector of security and defense of the European Union. The emphasis is brought on the Solana era, 1999-2009, as Mr. Solana was the first High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. His mandate was axiomatic in shaping a common security strategy for the Union. In order to measure the degree of integration, this dissertation applied an eclectic theoretical approach on three case studies looking at three distinct levels of analysis: domestic, homeland counterterrorism; regional, energy security vis-à-vis Russia; international, EUPOL Afghanistan mission.

Sweden is currently viewed as a small country of North Europe. However, it can be proud of a long historical tradition with a number of political successes -- the fact that there has not been a war for more than two hundred years due to neutrality can be considered as the biggest one. The neutrality is perceived as a politico-security conception. The thesis tries to sum up the perception of Swedish neutrality, to chart its changes in time and to measure its compatibility with the EU membership through the observation of the Swedish foreign policy, the participation in Common Foreign and Security Policy, Common Security and Defence Policy and the preparation of the EU Council Presidency. The aim is to confirm the hypothesis that Sweden is due to changes in the perception of neutrality concept the full member of the European Union also in such complex things as Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy.

The thesis focuses on the contemporary CSDP missions of the European Union from the point of view of critical literatures on imperialism, state-building and capacity-building. State-building and capacity-building gradually became dominant approaches towards weak and failing states which are associated with the exercise of power and influence in the critical literature, e.g. in David Chandler on whose argument this thesis draws on. The thesis develops Chandler's argument by means of analysis of intervention practices in the selected cases.

in English The Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) epitomizes the EU's aspirations to be a key actor in global security. With the Brexit the CSDP looses its biggest military power and one of its major payers. This thesis assesses how the EU dealed with the Brexit referendum and how the CSDP developed. It provides evaluation of the CSDP- related policies and asses the degree to which new developments can be traced back to the Brexit referendum and how they are infected by domestic constituencies in the EU Member States. The thesis shows that the exit of the UK gave the CSDP new possibilities to develop, that were not fully used due to domestic constraints of EU Member States.

This thesis aims to interconnect a theory of normative power Europe with the activities of the EU and its affect on the Western Balkans. The theoretical concept of normative power is based on the assumption of the EU as a normative actor who is able through its norms, values and principles to become a major civilian actor in international relations, especially in the area of conflict management. The theoretical part of the paper therefore focuses on the concept of normative power EU (NPE) as it is presented by Ian Manners, and how its normative character is reflected in the common security and defense policy. It is analysed how the NPE is diffused in selected countries of the Western Balkans through four chosen transfer mechanisms by Manners that comprise the operationalization of the thesis at the same time. Therefore the aim of this work is to contribute to the further broadening the debate over the EU's role in the international system, but also to find out how the norms and values are transmitted in selected countries of the near neighborhood - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo. All of this with regard to democracy, human and minority rights, peaceful settlement of disputes, good governance etc., which encompass the basic values of the EU. The selected operationalization has allowed...

When the Danish government conducted a policy shift, calling for an overturn of the defence opt-out of the European common security and defence policy (CSDP) during the spring of 2022, it was not clear that the public would vote yes. It is not challenging for existing research to explain why the government changed its attitude towards the EU, a more interesting focus, however, is how a government in a pressured situation tries to conduct a credible policy change. This study explores how the Danish government conducted a policy shift, utilising a two-step analytical framework involving frame analysis and, more precisely, frame alignment strategies to study how the government changed their framing of the EU and NATO as solutions. This field of study is essential to comprehend how military policy is created in the public sphere towards the population. The results indicate a shift in the framing of the EU, moving from being framed as a non-military security provider towards being recognised by the Danish government as an individual military security actor. However, it is still vital for Denmark to highlight NATO's distinctive role in Danish military policy. The shift is conducted using the frame alignment strategies of; bridging, amplification and downplaying to essentially the same extent as previous studies predicted.

How has the EEAS affected, if in any way, the coherence of the CFSP on the vertical dimension in security and defence matters? In this thesis I answer this research question in order to draw a conclusion on the affect of the EEAS on the cooperation and coordination of the MS with and within the CFSP in security and defence matters. Coherence within the EU’s foreign policy is an issue that its leaders have emphasized on developing for more than four decades. The introduction of the EEAS through the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 is perceived to enhance the cooperation and coordination of the MS with and within the CFSP, as well as coordinate the actions of the MS outside the boundaries of the EU. By conducting a multiple case study, in this thesis I compare how the most powerful MS: the UK, France, and Germany, interacted with and within the CFSP in the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2011 military intervention in Libya. Relatedly, a qualitative content analysis approach is applied in order to uncover all relevant information from the primary and secondary literature concerning the two cases. In contrast to most of the previous studies conducted on this topic, I combine and apply the theoretical perspectives of liberal institutionalism and social constructivism in order to explain and explore the phenomenon under investigation. Conclusively, this thesis suggests that the coherence of the CFSP on the vertical dimension in security and defence matters has not been affected in any way after the EEAS has been implemented in the CFSP. This is due to the inherent characteristic of the MS of always prioritizing their national interests, determined by their value-based normative ideas gained through social interaction, before a collective, effective, and coherent CFSP in defence and security terms.

Med anledning av den förändrade säkerhetsmiljön i Europa startade en process som syftade till att öka samarbetet inom säkerhets- och försvarsområdet inom EU. Detta försvarssamarbete kallas det Permanenta strukturerade samarbetet (Pesco) och innebär ett mer upptrappat och konkret militärt samarbete än tidigare inom EU. Genom ett medlemskap i Pesco förbinder sig medlemmarna till att mer intensivt utveckla sin egen försvarskapacitet inom forskning och anskaffning av försvarsmateriel, men även att uppbringa och bibehålla en stark försvarsbudget. Vidare ska även medlemstater bidra med stridsgrupper i beredskap för insatser inom EU:s ram. Hur kan vi förstå logiken i att Sverige ingår med i ett mer bindande försvarssamarbete som Pesco. Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera bakomliggande drivkrafter för att förstå varför Sverige beslutade att ingå i Pesco. Denna fallstudie har nyttjat ett teoretiskt perspektiv som utgått ifrån Graham Allisons konceptuella modeller för att identifiera dessa bakomliggande drivkrafter. Genom en kvalitativ textanalys studeras materialet i denna fallstudie bestående av regeringens proposition gällande deltagande i Pesco, Försvarsutskottets betänkande gällande Pesco och förvarspolitisk inriktning 2016-2020. För att komplettera textmaterialet har även mailintervjuer genomförts med strategiskt utvalda informanter i form av riksdagsledamöter och stabsofficerare i Försvarsmakten. Studiens slutsatser påvisar att de bakomliggande drivkrafterna för beslutet var flera. Den främsta drivkraften var att Sverige sedan tidigare ratificerat EU:s solidaritetsklausul och uttalat en solidaritetsförklaring gentemot övriga medlemstater i EU. Genom att ingå i Pesco förväntas det öka Sveriges trovärdighet som medlemsstat i EU. En ytterligare drivkraft var att ingå i Pesco i ett tidigt skede i syfte att forma samarbetet och ha inflytande i den riktning som Sverige anser var förenliga med militär alliansfrihet, samt att fortsatt driva den mellanstatliga prägel som samarbetet nu innehar. En drivkraft var också att bygga upp det nationella försvaret, öka den operativa förmågan och stärka totalförsvaret genom försvarssamarbetet. En majoritet av Riksdagens partier var överens om Sveriges ingående i Pesco, detta på grund av tidigare beslutad Försvarsinriktningsperiod 2016-2020 som också var en bärande drivkraft till varför Sverige valde att ingå i Pesco. / In response to the changing security environment in Europe a process started aimed at increasing cooperation in the security and defence area within the EU. This defence cooperation is called the Permanent structured cooperation (Pesco) and means a more gradual and substantial military cooperation than before in the EU. Through a membership in Pesco, the members commit to more intensively develop of its own defence capabilities in research and acquisition of defence equipment, but also to obtain and maintain a strong defence budget. In addition, the member states should also contribute with battle groups ready for military missions within the framework of the EU. How can we understand the logic of Sweden joining more binding defence cooperation like Pesco. The purpose of this study is to identify the underlying driving forces to understand why Sweden decided to join Pesco. This case study uses a theoretical perspective based on Graham Allison's conceptual models to achieve this purpose. Through a qualitative text analysis, the data that is studied in this case study consisting of Swedish government proposition and Defence committee report regarding Pesco and Defence bill 2016-2020. In order to widen the study, mail interviews were conducted with strategically selected informants. Those were members of the Swedish parliament and staff officers in the Swedish Armed Forces. The study concludes that the underlying driving forces for the decision were several. The main driving force was that Sweden previously ratified the EU solidarity clause and stated a declaration of solidarity in relation to other member states of the EU. By joining Pesco is also expected to boost Sweden's credibility as a member state of the EU. An additional driving force was to join Pesco at an early stage in order to forge cooperation and have influence in the direction in which Sweden considers compatible with own military nonalignment, and also to continue to drive the intergovernmental nature that Pesco now holds. An additional driving force was also building up the national defence, increase the operational capacity and strengthen the armed forces through the defence cooperation. A majority of the parliamentary parties agreed on joining Pesco because of the previously decided defence bill 2016-2020, which also considers as a driving force for why Sweden chose to join Pesco.

L’apaisement de l’antagonisme Est-Ouest suite à la chute du Mur de Berlin, modifie l’équilibre stratégique mondial et suscite le réveil de conflits dits « gelés ». Dans ce contexte, les Etats européens saisissent la nécessité de se doter d’un cadre politico-stratégique commun (PESC) afin de contribuer au maintien de la paix et de la sécurité internationales. Avec la mise en place de la PESC, puis d’une dimension opérationnelle à son action extérieure (PSDC), l’UE ambitionne à devenir un acteur stratégique majeur pour la gestion des crises. Le développement de capacités « non-militaires » – civiles – de la PSDC, dédiées à la conduite d’activités de reconstruction post-conflit, constitue une véritable valeur ajoutée. Malgré la jeunesse de sa PSDC, l’UE représente indéniablement une force positive pour la sécurité coopérative aux côtés des autres acteurs de la sécurité. Les défis actuels appellent néanmoins à une réactualisation de la stratégie sécuritaire européenne. / The end of the Cold War modified the fragile security equilibrium established for over fifty years, bringing frozen conflicts to the forefront of the international security environment. Confronted with this new reality, EU member states seized the necessity of developing a common political and strategic framework (CFSP), in order to help maintain peace and international security. The establishment of the CFSP and of an operational dimension to its external action (CSDP), illustrate the EU’s ambition to becoming a key strategic player in crisis management. By developing civilian capabilities within its CSDP, destined for post-conflict reconstruction activities, the EU aims at providing a real added value to modern crisis management. Despite the insufficiencies of its newly created CSDP, the EU positively contributes to cooperative security alongside other security actors. Current security challenges nevertheless require an updating of its strategy.