Rikard Bengtsson

Constructing Interfaces: the Neighbourhood Discourse in EU External Policy

Abstract This article seeks to analyse European Union rhetoric concerning its European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The article employs an analytical framework built on regional security complex theory and the concepts of interface and recognition and analyses official rhetoric from EU representatives (primarily from the Commission but also the Council) in terms of EU self‐image, images of the neighbourhood and perceptions of the interaction logic between the EU and the neighbourhood. The article concludes that the EU perceives itself as the motor of European security and as superior to the neighbourhood, but also that EU representatives simultaneously note the interdependent character of the relationship and frame the ENP policy programme in terms of joint ownership.

Towards a Stable Peace in the Baltic Sea Region

In this article, some of the possibilities and obstacles involved in attaining stable peace in the Baltic Sea region are analysed. By stable peace is understood a relationship in which military conflict resolution has become unthinkable regardless of how serious a prospective conflict may become. It is argued that stable peace does not presently exist in the region as a whole, but that instead the situation resembles what is elaborated in this article as an integrative peace built on trust, one in which elements of security competition remain in place. The article establishes an analytical framework of different peace types around the concepts of distrust, trust and confidence. This framework is subsequently employed in an analysis of developments in the Baltic Sea region after the Cold War. The analysis shows that the extensive web of cooperative schemes in place in the region shows the promise of a move towards stable peace. In addition, democratic developments in the region generally point in the same direction. One word of caution concerns the democratic developments in Russia — while generally promising, this fundamental parameter remains to be settled permanently.

Soft Security and the Presidency: Swedish Policy towards the Northern Dimension

The Council Presidency offered Sweden a possibility to contribute not only to a number of important issue areas but also to what we may call the ‘foreign policy’ side of the EU.A general question was, of course, what sort of impact Sweden could make in this field, given its background as a nonaligned and small state — a country generally regarded as hesitant in terms of supranational policy-making, but with a history of active national foreign policy. In the work programme of the Swedish Presidency, the enlargement process stood out as the most important foreign policy objective (see Miles in this symposium). Indeed, enlargement was the most important issue overall and was accorded a high profile throughout the Presidency period, not least in the Goteborg context. As regards other aspects of EU external relations, Russia and the Northern Dimension (ND) areas were singled out as significant areas of interest. The main reason for this was security-related — the work programme stated that cooperation between the EU and Russia was ‘of fundamental significance for the security and development of Europe’ (Cabinet Office, 2000: 23). The ND may be interpreted in similar terms — in seeking to diminish the boundary between the ‘inside’ and the ‘outside’ of the Union by engaging Russia in closer cooperation.This brief commentary outlines the main outcomes of the Swedish Presidency as regards the Russian and ND spheres, and then relates these developments to principal issues such as the room for presidential influence and the institutional division of labour (covered by Elgstrom). (Less)

The EU and Global Economic Governance: Playing the Role of a Global Leader?

The global political economy is in a process of fundamental transformation. In institutional terms, this is most evident in the elevation of the Group of Twenty (G20) into the premier forum for global economic governance. Based on a logic of great power summitry, such a development raises particular challenges for the European Union (EU) and European powers, which are promoting an inclusive form of multilateralism. To what extent have European actors in the G20 been successful in promoting European values and standards? Are the EU and European states playing a leadership role in developing global economic governance? The analysis in this chapter shows that European influence has varied over time. At a principal level, European strategic action for norm export is trapped in a situation where it holds substantial representation and hence agenda-setting potential but faces difficulties over unitary/coherent action and lack of credibility in a setting that is less robust than the European preference. Within those parameters, however, there is room for agenda shaping, as recent developments indicate.

Uncertainty, Risk and Trust : The Swedish-German General Staff Negotiations of 1910

Despite a protracted and well‐established policy of neutrality, in 1910, Sweden decided to enter into negotiations with Germany concerning military collaboration in case of a Russian attack against Germany and Sweden. This article argues that behind the Swedish decision to enter into the talks was Swedish trust towards Germany to the effect that Germany would not exploit the talks for its own interests. The article discusses the phenomenon of inter‐state trust in terms of risk and uncertainty, and analyzes the Swedish decision process leading to the general staff negotiations.