The Franco-German leadership in the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy: A critical analysis of the Franco-German defence contributions to the EU

• Autor(a) principal: Rosa, José Pedro Catalão Rolhas da
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/21789
• topic: European Union; Common Security and Defence Policy; Franco-German axis; Leadership; União Europeia; Política Comum de Segurança e Defesa; Eixo Franco-Alemão; Liderança

The phenomenon of leadership is often crucial to the development of specific international arrangements and agreements. It has the potential of determining the success or failure of a community’s attempt of achieving a common goal. The relevance of leadership is particularly predominant in the context of the EU due to the difficulty of managing and converging the wide range of interests within the EU, and the security and defence area is a clear example of that. Thus, focusing on the evolution of the EU’s security and defence project from its first attempts in the 1950s until its current state, this study observes the Franco-German case study as a source of leadership in this policy area. Through the analysis of France’s and Germany’s leading role in the EU’s history, this dissertation then focuses on understanding if that pattern of action is also present in the CSDP since its establishment in 2009. Considering the intergovernmental nature of this policy area, the value of leadership is evident amidst the ongoing institutional and communitarian debate. Therefore, by highlighting the concept of leadership in international relations and the characteristics that define a leader, this study identifies the Franco-German actions and strategies in the CSDP and reflects on how those have shaped European defence. The analysis concludes that France and Germany have led the EU’s security and defence project, albeit with limited success. At the core of that limited success, this study identifies the divergent interests and strategies between the two countries as the main obstacle for further progress.