Overview

This book analyses whether the EU’s drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states’ perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU’s institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Full Product Details

Author:   Giedrius Česnakas (General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania) ,  Justinas Juozaitis (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.440kg
ISBN:  

9781032350073

ISBN 10:   1032350075
Pages:   226
Publication Date:   26 December 2022
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Small States, International Institutions and European Strategic Autonomy 2. European Strategic Autonomy: The Origins Story 3. Revisiting France’s Commitment to Defence integration: A Case of Political Functionalism 4. Germany: The Renewed Quest for Strategic Autonomy 5. Poland’s Resilient Atlanticism 6. US Foreign Policy during the Biden Presidency: A Reset in the US Approach Towards the EU Strategic Autonomy? 7. Through the Estonian Looking Glass: Can NATO’s Credible Deterrence and EU Strategic Autonomy Succeed Simultaneously? 8. Military Capabilities First, Politics Later: Latvia’s Approach to European Strategic Autonomy 9. European Strategic Autonomy in Lithuania’s Foreign Policy Discourse 10. European Strategic Autonomy: Opportunities and Threats for Denmark 11. Belgium and European Strategic Autonomy 12. Dutch Security and Defence Policy: From Faithful Ally to Pragmatic European 13. A Reluctant Supporter: The Hungarian Perspective on European Strategic Autonomy 14. Shared Values and Common Borders: Why Greece Views European Strategic Autonomy as an Opportunity 15. Conclusions: Domination of Pragmatism Towards the European Strategic Autonomy

Reviews

'In a world that is too often preoccupied with great power politics, this book is a much-needed and timely contribution for understanding the other side of international relations, small states. It should be required reading for anyone wishing to examine contemporary European politics and security.' Marc Ozawa, NATO Defense College, Rome 'By bringing together for the first time scholars from small states to write about European small states’ perceptions of, and engagements with, European strategic autonomy, this book addresses an important gap in the academic literature on European defence. It is a crucial introduction for those interested in the subject.' Lukas Milevski, Institute of History, Leiden University, the Netherlands 'This monograph, in arguing that the concept of European strategic autonomy is both a challenge to and an opportunity for the national security interests of the small states of the EU, presents vital lessons for all small states facing the vicissitudes of Great Power assertiveness and aggression.' Bernard Loo Fook Weng, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

'In a world that is too often preoccupied with great power politics, this book is a much-needed and timely contribution for understanding the other side of international relations, small states. It should be required reading for anyone wishing to examine contemporary European politics and security.' Marc Ozawa, NATO Defense College, Rome 'By bringing together for the first time scholars from small states to write about European small states' perceptions of, and engagements with, European strategic autonomy, this book addresses an important gap in the academic literature on European defence. It is a crucial introduction for those interested in the subject.' Lukas Milevski, Institute of History, Leiden University, the Netherlands 'This monograph, in arguing that the concept of European strategic autonomy is both a challenge to and an opportunity for the national security interests of the small states of the EU, presents vital lessons for all small states facing the vicissitudes of Great Power assertiveness and aggression.' Bernard Loo Fook Weng, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Author Information

Giedrius Česnakas is Professor at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania, heading undergraduate and graduate political studies programmes. Justinas Juozaitis is Policy analyst at the Centre for Defence Analysis at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania and a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy at the Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania.

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