Theoretical approaches to the European Security and Defence Policy research

The article reflects a topical problem for theory and practice of international relations. The intensificationand expansion of the European integration building is a new and contradictory process that scientists and politicians are requiredto comprehend the crux of the existent. The article discusses the main theoretical approaches to the research of one of the Europeanintegration realm - security and defence policy. The analysis of the theoretical directions is taken on the basis of comparison of its approachesto interpretation of reasons of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) of the European Union (EU) emergence anddevelopment. There are three theoretical approaches to interpretation of integration process: neorealism, neofunctionalism and neoliberalintergovernmentalism. From the position of neorealism the CSDP emergence is a EU effort to change the balance of power in thenew international relations system after the end of the Cold War. The CSDP is covered both classically and by a wider sense of the termbalance of power by neorealists. Representatives of the soft balancing theory consider that the CSDP emergence is caused by therivalry of west European states and the USA. There is an alternative theory of balance of threats; accordingly, the integration in securityand defence realms is due to emergence of new power poles or sources of threats, and not to the European countries anxiety of theUSA domination. In this case the key thesis of the approach is the influence of structural changes in the international relations system.The neofunctionalists conform to the logic of the spill-over effect, according to which the emergence of defence cooperation is explainedby integration expansion from economics to politics. The intensification of integration is stimulated by the system of supranationalbodies, whose nature stipulates the tendency to cooperation. The activation of the CSDP development after the changes of GreatBritains position due to Labourites coming to power in 1997 testifies to the high extent of the inner factors influence. This determinantis amplified with longstanding Frances urge towards the development of the European security system, its support by Germany andambiguous attitude to the CSDP of other EU states. The selected factors found its reflection in the theory of neoliberal intergovernmentalism,whose main ideas are aimed at the research of bottom-up policy-making mechanism and founded on the theories of liberal regimes,negotiations and intergovernmentalism. The article rightfully concludes, that the presented approaches have definite limitationshindering from a comprehensive analysis of the European integration. However, the reviewed theoretical approaches do not contradicteach other, which makes it possible to combine in the analysis specific historical aspects including security and defence policy.

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