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2019 | Book

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The EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy in Germany and the UK

Co-Operation, Co-Optation and Competition

Author: Nicholas Wright

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : New Perspectives in German Political Studies

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This book examines the impact on member states of long-term foreign policy co-operation through the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Focusing on Germany and the UK, it provides an up-to-date account of how they have navigated and responded to the demands co-operation places on all member states and how their national foreign policies and policy-making processes have changed and adapted as a consequence. As well as exploring in depth the foreign policy traditions and institutions in both states, the book also offers detailed analyses of how they addressed two major policy questions: the Iranian nuclear crisis; and the establishment and development of the European External Action Service. The book’s synthesis of country and case studies seeks to add to our understanding of the nature of inter-state co-operation in the area of foreign and security policy and what it means for the states involved.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
This chapter sets out the main theoretical arguments in the book. It examines how key components of constructivism have inspired a new supranationalist theoretical analysis that CFSP has been responsible for a profound transformation not just in how member states make foreign policy, but in the interests and preferences that underpin this. This book does not dispute that member states have had to adapt to the requirements and pressures of CFSP. However, it argues that new supranationalist theorising pays insufficient attention to the national level. Thus, change remains rooted in national-level institutions and processes that give states the capacity to ‘play the game’ and are crucial in enabling them to act strategically in their engagement with the CFSP.
Nicholas Wright

Part I

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. From Pusillanimous Realism to Defensive Engagement: Britain’s Changing Relationship with the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter maps the development of British engagement in foreign policy co-operation with the EU, and particularly the British view of the purpose and utility of the CFSP. It argues that there has been considerable continuity in the underlying attitudes and approaches of the Conservative, Labour and Coalition Governments during this period. Most importantly, it argues that governments of all political hues have engaged with the CFSP with an assumption that Britain should play a leadership role in European foreign policy, and its capacity to do so can be seen in the strategic action it has undertaken. The chapter concludes with some reflections on what Brexit is likely to mean for UK engagement in future European foreign policy co-operation.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 3. Institutional Structures and Processes: British Foreign Policy-Making and the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter details the mechanics by which Britain engages with the CFSP. It sets out the processes by which foreign, security and defence policy inputs are agreed domestically and in conjunction with the UK’s Permanent Representation in Brussels, looking particularly at the premium placed on strong co-ordination and an unambiguous articulation of the national position on any given issue. It discusses the processes for—and achievement of—political and strategic leadership on CFSP-related issues and examines the means by which CFSP policy-making has been ‘internalised’, particularly within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the impact this has on policy-making.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 4. Winding Up the Machine: How the UK Engages with the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter examines what happens when Britain pursues its policy objectives in the CFSP. It discusses British relationships and engagement with key partners, particularly France and Germany, and the issue areas where it seeks to exercise most influence. In particular, the chapter discusses the British ‘narrative’ of CFSP: a defensive engagement intended to prevent either the CFSP’s intergovernmental character or the primacy of NATO from being undermined; and how successful it has been in securing these aims. Overall, the chapter argues that British concerns have largely focused on minimising the CFSP as a potential ‘competitor’ in the achievement of its foreign policy aims and its relationship with other key actors, most notably NATO, particularly in recent years.
Nicholas Wright

Part II

Frontmatter
Chapter 5. From Perennial Follower to ‘Reluctant’ Leader? Germany’s Relationship with the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter maps the trajectory of German foreign and security policy since the end of the Cold War and reunification and how these have impacted on its approach to EU-level co-operation. It contends that the concept of Germany as a ‘normalised state’ offers a convincing explanation of developments in German foreign and security policy, particularly since the election of the SPD/Green Party Coalition in 1998. In doing so, it argues that today Germany enjoys a position of emergent leadership in foreign policy, mirroring its economic role, and that the ‘reflexive multilateralism’ that for so long characterised its foreign policy-making can no longer be assumed. Rather, Germany is showing greater willingness to behave—and be seen to behave—as a ‘normal’ power.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 6. Institutional Structures and Processes: German Foreign Policy-Making and the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter examines the mechanics of German foreign policy-making in relation to the CFSP, focusing on political leadership and strategic management, structures, and processes. It discusses the roles of, and relationships between, the Chancellery and Foreign Ministry in setting and executing German foreign policy, a process made more complex by the requirements of coalition government and the need to involve a wide range of stakeholders, particularly from economic ministries. It goes on to examine the challenges within the German system of achieving effective co-ordination in Brussels, the efforts to improve this, and the impact the involvement of a greater number of stakeholders has had on the position and influence of the Foreign Ministry within the foreign policy-making process.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 7. Emerging Leadership: How Germany Engages with the CFSP
Abstract
This chapter considers how Germany pursues its goals in the CFSP. Several types of behaviour are identified: ‘shared leadership’ whereby it works with partners to achieve particular objectives; Germany as an ‘example’, whereby it acts as a hub around which other states can converge; Germany as a ‘mediator’; and finally, ‘unilateral’ Germany, whereby it will risk isolation in pursuit of particular goals. Taken together, these reflect a continuing preference for multilateral co-operation but also an increasing willingness to stand apart from partners and to take clear leadership positions when necessary.
Nicholas Wright

Case Studies

Frontmatter
Chapter 8. Countering Proliferation: The Iran Nuclear Negotiations (2002–15)
Abstract
The prevention of Iranian nuclear proliferation presented the EU collectively and the ‘E3’ of Germany, France and the UK individually with one of their most difficult foreign policy challenges in recent years. The chapter begins with a brief background to the crisis. It then examines German and British national interests and objectives in seeking to lead the international response alongside France. It shows how their ad hoc ‘E3’ leadership group simultaneously set them apart from, but also increasingly depended upon the support of, their other EU partners, exemplified by the need to maintain the sanctions regime the EU imposed on Iran throughout the period of the negotiations and upon which the E3’s leadership credibility was based.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 9. The Establishment of the European External Action Service
Abstract
The EEAS was designed as the institutional solution to the perennial problems of inefficiency and incoherence that have beset CFSP. However, creating an organisational and administrative centre for EU foreign and security policy has not been uncontroversial and since its launch the EEAS has faced a range of administrative and bureaucratic challenges. The chapter begins by exploring the positions of Germany and the UK towards the EEAS, particularly during the negotiations that created it, and their subsequent attitudes to it and how it has functioned and been led. What emerges is a complex set of competing preferences, with Germany strongly supportive in principle while the UK has sought to limit its activities and responsibilities for ideological and budgetary reasons.
Nicholas Wright
Chapter 10. Conclusion
Abstract
This concluding chapter draws together the key themes, ideas and findings set out in the book. In particular it shows that by examining national policy coordination processes, the degree of convergence in structures and policies between the two states, and their success in policy ‘uploading’ to CFSP, we can develop a far better understanding of the complexity of their domestic foreign policy-making regimes and the importance of national level institutions in determining the preferences and interests that are then pursued in CFSP. This highlights the core message of the book: however complex and cooperative their multilateral interactions, the member states remain as central as ever to EU foreign and security policy-making.
Nicholas Wright
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
The EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy in Germany and the UK
Author
Nicholas Wright
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-93470-9
Print ISBN
978-3-319-93469-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93470-9

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