"The EU should focus on acting as a civilian power and not a military power" do you agree?
The increasingly turbulent political climate of late has placed increasing pressure upon the European Union to consider furthering itself as a military power. There is no question that the EU is already a major actor on the world stage in terms of trade; the EU conducts economic relations with virtually every country on earth (Smith 2003, cited in Cini 2004), but there has been mounting speculation over its strength as a major political actor in light of the recent escalating security threat to western democracies. However, what has come under scrutiny recently is whether the EU would maintain itself as a central contributor to the field of international relations due to its complicated structure and the many differing political stances its member states frequently take.
The question then, as to whether the EU should focus itself more as a civilian power rather than a military power will need careful consideration and a well balanced analysis in order for it to be answered in a credible manner. Thus the discussion, in order to begin with a stable foundation, should start with a look at how the EU has developed into its current state and how that development may have affected its ability to act on the world's current political stage. Once this has been achieved, I shall commence a thorough analysis of the development of the European Common Foreign Security Policy and how effective it may be in today's political climate. I believe it also to be especially important to compare any potential European military power to NATO, as NATO is what would need to be surpassed in terms of influence and resources in order to be considered a central military power in the world. The treaties that have allowed for the development and implementation of a European military power must also be looked at in order to grasp the logistics of operating effectively during any potential...