Ireland Neutrality And European Security Integration

This title was first published in 2002: Roisin Doherty provides an innovative insight into European security policy by concentrating on Ireland through an analysis of compatibility of Irish neutrality with security integration. She also analyzes the factors influencing security integration. This contemporary analysis of neutrality also deals with the development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and examines the factors pushing forward the development of EU security policy. A specialized text suitable for undergraduate and post-graduate courses in international relations, European studies and administrative studies, this stimulating volume will appeal to those interested in the European Union, Irish foreign policy, neutrality and the CFSP in general.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,0, Free University of Berlin (Otto-Suhr-Institut), course: The Evolution of European Security Institutions, language: English, abstract: In the space of a few years, the EU has made more progress on developing its European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) than in the previous forty years of European integration. This has occurred despite the fact that four EU member states that are historically “neutral”, i.e. they are not members of NATO and are merely observers (not members) of WEU. Namely, these states are Austria, Finland, Ireland and Sweden (henceforth: EU neutrals). Many of the ESDP measures (unanimously!) adopted by the EU seem incompatible with such neutrality policies. How, then, has it been possible for ESDP to evolve so significantly since 1997 in light of the fact that the Union must accommodate the concerns of the EU neutrals? In this paper, I argue that ESDP has been able to develop so rapidly because it has been crafted so as to allow for the participation of Austria, Finland, Ireland and Sweden without jeopardizing their neutrality policies. Specifically, this means that ESDP has adopted solely functions that reflect the preferences of EU neutral states – a preference that ESDP encompass matters concerning “security and defence cooperation”, whilst excluding a “common defence”. Thus my independent variable is the preferences of neutral states for ESDP. My dependent variable are the institutional functions that ESDP adopted between 1997 and 2004, as reflected in actual policy agreed upon by the European Council. I limit my investigation to a case study of the Irish government’s preferences for ESDP functions in relation to several specific instances of ESDP evolution (European Council meetings and Intergovernmental Conferences). My paper proceeds as follows: The first section specifies my explanatory factor – the preferences of neutral states for ESDP – and draws on rationalist institutionalist theory to lay out my hypothesis that ESDP will only encompass those functions the neutral states favour. The second section discusses the operationalisation of the independent and dependent variables and presents the data sources to be used. In the third section, I engage in the case study analysis of Irish influence on ESDP. The fourth section summarises the findings, discusses the strengths and shortcomings of my study and rationalist institutionalism’s application to it.

This book aids any researcher, policymakers and military personnel in researching small states and militaries, European defence and security policy, as well as contemporary and emerging threats. This edited collection gathers academic commentators on Irish defence policy, military leaders from across the service components of the Irish Defence Forces and European defence experts to contribute to the first in-depth conversation and analysis on modern Irish defence and its application within the European Union. The aim of this edited book is to ascertain what capabilities are robust, which are lacking, what future threats need to be catered for, and what action is needed to ensure those threats will be addressed going forward. This book will explore emerging issues and applications of modern and contemporary threats within the context of Ireland, Europe and Western institutions. We have invited submissions from scholars, commentators, policymakers and military practitioners to evaluate the Irish Defence Forces and to illustrate the complexities facing small nations in formulating and resourcing defence and national security policy.

This title was first published in 2001. This study questions whether the development of foreign and security policy co-operation within the EU has constrained or empowered Danish, Dutch and Irish foreign policy. This entails a study of the relationship between national foreign policy and EU frameworks for co-operation.

Ireland’s relationship with the European Union has been determined by the behaviour, actions and discourse of political parties. This book examines this impact through an in-depth analysis of the Europeanization of party politics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. First, it presents original research on cross-cutting issues that have featured in political debates about European integration, including referendum campaigns on EU treaties, Irish neutrality and party policy positions on the EU. Secondly, it is the first book of its kind to examine in detail how each of the main parties on the island of Ireland has adapted to EU membership. In doing so it both tests the thesis of ‘Europeanization’ and deepens understanding of the impact that EU membership can have on national and sub-national party politics. What this study reveals is that, while Europeanization is clearly evident in all parties in Ireland, including those most critical of European integration, its influence has been strictly curtailed. We argue that the effects of Europeanization in Irish party politics have been limited by enduring resistance to – and conditions placed upon – EU influence in particular policy areas, the importance of pragmatism and (sub-)national priorities in shaping parties’ approaches to European integration and the fact that engagement with the EU continues to be a predominantly elite-led process. This book was published as a special issue of Irish Political Studies.