Joachim A. Koops

NATO’s Influence on the Evolution of the European Union as a Security Actor

During the last decade, the ‘NATO-EU Relationship’ has become the focus of a wide range of studies by scholars adopting EU-centric, NATO-centric or transatlantic perspectives. While the existing literature provides important insights into the general nature of the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in terms of prospects for co-operation and competition between both organizations — as well as between American and European approaches to international security more generally — there has been surprisingly little focus on the specific influence NATO has had on the EU’s own evolution and ambitions in the security and defence realm (for a notable exception, see Juncos 2007, Reynolds 2007 and Petrov 2010). Yet, the manifold links and interactions between both organizations — which amount to one of the most densely institutionalized inter-organizational relationships at present — provide particularly fruitful insights for studying the influence and impacts the ‘external organizational environment’ has had on the European Union’s own evolution, practices, approaches and identity.

The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor

Foreword by Pierre Vimont, Secretary-General European External Action Service 1. Introduction: The EU as a Diplomatic Actor Joachim A. Koops and Gjovalin Macaj 2. The EU as a Diplomatic Actor in the Post-Lisbon Era: Robust or Rootless Hybrid? Michael H. Smith 3. EU Diplomacy in Global Governance: The Role of the EEAS Knud Erik Jorgensen 4. Evaluating the Impact of EU Diplomacy: Pitfalls and Challenges Yvonne Kleistra and Niels van Willigen 5. EU Diplomacy at the Individual Level: The Role and Impact of the EU Special Representatives Dominik Tolksdorf 6. Speak Up! Getting the EU a Voice at the UN General Assembly Fernando Andresen Guimaraes 7. The EU as a Coercive Diplomatic Actor? The EU-3 Initiative Towards Iran Tom Sauer 8. The EUs Role and Performance within the G20 in the Area of Finance and Development Peter Debaere 9. The EU as an International Trade Negotiator Frank Hoffmeister 10. The EU as a Diplomatic Actor in the Field of Human Rights Karen E. Smith 11. The European Unions Climate Change Diplomacy Simon Schunz

Theorising inter-organisational relations: the “EU–NATO relationship” as a catalytic case study

ABSTRACT This article explores the historical evolution of research on the “European Union (EU)–North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) relationship” since the 1950s and examines the numerous ways in which it has served as an important case study for applying and developing theory-guided and conceptual research on inter-organisational relations (IOR) in International Relations. After a dearth of policy-oriented research during the 1990s and early 2000s, a wide range of scholars have contributed to a “conceptual turn” in the study of EU–NATO during the last decade. This development, as this article will argue, not only signifies a stronger interest by scholars to understand the complex relationship between both organisations with the help of more theory-driven research, but also highlights that the EU–NATO relationship has become a “catalytic case study” in terms of inspiring conceptual experimentation and advancing efforts to theorise IOR more generally. The article provides for the first time a systematic stock-taking and analysis of the richness of concepts and theoretical debates related to EU–NATO relations research and offers scholars wider insights into the most promising approaches and analytical tools for understanding and theorising EU–NATO relations.

Inter-Organizationalism in International Relations: A Multilevel Framework of Analysis

This chapter argues that Inter-organizational relations (IORs) should be understood and analysed as a multilevel phenomenon involving a variety of different actors and players at different levels of analysis. Processes, dynamics, and outcomes of inter-organizational interaction occur and unfold during various moments of the inter-organizational life cycle and can be significantly influenced by powerful member states, individual leaders as well as bureaucratic and inter-institutional dynamics. Hence, for students, researchers and practitioners of inter-organizational relations, it is of prime importance to be aware of the different impact each level can have and how these levels interact in the wider context of cooperation or rivalry between organizations. This chapter provides a multilevel framework for analysing IORs. Section 2 introduces the multilevel analysis framework more generally and explains how it can be applied to the assessment of various aspects of IORs. Thereafter, Section 3 outlines in more detail the different levels (international system, member state, individual, bureaucratic and inter-institutional/inter-secretariat) and their significance for understanding, describing and explaining material, ideational as well as impact-related aspects of inter-organizational relations. Finally, Section 4 offers some overall conclusions and suggestions for future research.

United Nations rapid reaction mechanisms: Toward a global force on standby?

ABSTRACT This article analyses the main challenges and future prospects of creating United Nations (UN) rapid reaction mechanisms, particularly in the light of past attempts and current discussions about a “UN Vanguard Force” in the wake of the High-Level Panel on Peace Operations report. The article reviews major initiatives (in particular lessons from the Standby High Readiness Brigade for UN Operations) and assesses the main achievements, failures, and challenges related to past UN-led rapid reaction mechanisms. In line with the overall aim of this special forum, the article highlights the future potentials and institutional, operational, financial, and political challenges that need to be overcome in order to design and create a pragmatic and effective rapid reaction tool at the disposal of the UN.

Studying Relations Among International Organizations in World Politics: Core Concepts and Challenges

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the main definitions, dimensions, and processes of inter-organizational relations and outlines major concepts required for understanding and analyzing inter-organizational relations in world politics. The chapter is divided into seven sections. After a general introduction, Section 2 clarifies major definitions of the concept (both our understanding of ‘inter-organizational relations’ and of ‘international organizations’), contrasting this with the prevalent ‘regime interaction’ approach; the section also explores different dimensions of inter-organizational relations, such as degrees of formalization or Secretariat and field perspectives. Section 3 explains the growth of interaction among international organizations since 1945, pointing in particular to the proliferation of international organizations, their task expansion, issue-linkage, and political shocks as causal factors; the section also elucidates major stimuli for individual organizations to cooperate. Section 4 focuses on cooperation and competition among organizations, adding some considerations about the management of relations. Section 5 is supposed to open the door for analyses investigating systematically the effectiveness of inter-organizational relations, while Section 6 flags up major theoretical and methodological challenges for students of inter-organizational relations. Finally, Section 7 introduces the approach and structure of this Handbook.

Introduction: The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor

The European Union’s (EU’s) nature, policies and impact as an international actor have been the subject of analytical scrutiny and a wide range of conceptual and empirical case studies since the early 1970s (Allen and Smith, 1990, 1998; Bretherton and Vogler, 2006; Cosgrove and Twitchett 1970; Galtung, 1973; Jupille and Caporaso 1998; Ginsberg, 2001, 1999; Hill, 1993; Koops, 2011; Sjostedt, 1977). In parallel, scholars also began to reflect on the European Community’s (EC) activities, role and presence in international diplomacy and examined the EU’s emerging ‘diplomatic persona’ distinct from its own member states (Hill and Wallace, 1979, p. 47; see also Cosgrove and Twitchett, 1970, p. 44; Sjostedt, 1977, p. 20). However, it was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s that the ‘EU as a diplomatic actor’ has become a more extensively studied subject in its own right (Batora, 2005; Bruter, 1999; Duke, 2002; Keukeleire, 2003; Keukeleire et al., 2009). While these studies focused mostly on the EU’s newly created Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) – and hence on the EU’s ‘CFSP diplomacy’ (Keukeleire, 2003, p. 36) – the recent surge of interest in and studies of the EU as a diplomatic actor has been a result of the Treaty of Lisbon’s innovation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) (Bicchi, 2012; Carta and Duke, 2014; Duke, 2009; Smith, 2013; Spence, 2009; Vanhoonacker and Reslow, 2010) and the deliberate build-up of the EU’s diplomatic capacity in the post-Lisbon era (Carta, 2011, 2013; Hocking and Batora, 2009; Mahncke and Gstohl, 2012; Neumann, 2011).