EU Security Policy: What it is, How it Works, Why it Matters

What is the European Union''s security and defense policy (CSDP)? How does it work? Does it make a difference in international security affairs? How do other global actors react to Europe''s new assertiveness? And how do theories of international relations account for the trajectory of EU integration in the high politics of national security? In this comprehensive survey and analysis, Michael Merlingen brings together the key issues, themes, and debates related to the CSDP.

Merlingen explores the construction and inner workings of EU security policy, as well as its impact both regionally and globally. He also looks carefully at relationships between the EU and other world powers. Taking stock of the CSDP-its successes and failures, accomplishments and limitations-he highlights the challenges and opportunities that await the EU as it continues to reinforce its position as an important security actor on the world stage.

Merlingen provides a vitally important framework for how we think about European security institutions broadly and about the role that the EU has come to play in the dynamics of both European and global security. This timely volume is essential reading for scholars and students of modern Europe, as well as for practitioners in the realm of international security policy.

-Sean Kay, Ohio State University

Succeeds brilliantly in explaining, in a comprehensive and at the same time readable way, the ins and outs of this major EU policy.

-Sven Biscop, Egmont Institute