''The European Union as a small power - after the post Cold War'', by
Asle Toje
Asle Toje (born February 16, 1974) is the Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (2018-2023). He is a foreign policy scholar and was Research Director at the Norwegian Nobel Institute from 2009 until he joined the Nobel Peace Prize Committe ...
, first published in 2010, explores the politics and security of the
Small Power
The international system is for the most part made up by small powers or small states. While a small power in the international system may never equal or surpass the effect of larger powers, they can nevertheless influence the workings of the ...
s from the Late Middle Ages to 1945 and the reason for their decline. It then continues by forecasting the position of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
(EU) for the first decades on the 2000s.
Summary
The EU is a response to and function of Europe's unique historical experience. The past decade has shown that there is policy space for greater EU engagement in European security, although the EU has not been able to play all roles with the same degree of accomplishment.
There are particular concerns over its security and defence dimension where attempts at pooling resources and forming a political consensus have failed to generate the results expected. These trends, combined with shifts in global power patterns, have been accompanied by a shift in EU strategic thinking whereby great-power ambitions have been scaled down and replaced by a tendency towards hedging vis-à-vis the leading powers.
On an operational level the track record shows that the EU's effectiveness is hampered by a "consensus– expectations gap", owing primarily to the lack of an effective decision-making mechanism. The sum of these developments is that the EU will not be a great power, and is taking the place of one of the
small powers in the emerging multipolar international order.(summarized on page 11).
Critiques
The book received warm reviews from
Robert Kagan
Robert Kagan (; born September 26, 1958) is an American neoconservative scholar, critic of U.S. foreign policy, and a leading advocate of liberal interventionism.
A co-founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century, he is a ...
: "The great strength of Asle's Toje Absorbing, detailed and much-Needed study is to show What role the European Union Might Be Expected to play under multipolarity". ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' chose the book as one of its "Recommended Reading for the beach", and Philip Stephens in
The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
writes: "In a striking analysis of foreign and security policy hum the opening Decade of the century, Asle Toje, a scholar that Norway's Nobel Institute, concludes That Europe Has Been showing all the Characteristics of a small power - or Rather of a series of small powers as The Limited Influence of the Union co-exists with the constrained power of France, Britain and Germany".
References
External links
Publisher's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:European Union As a Small Power
2010 non-fiction books
Books about geopolitics
Books about international relations