EU-NATO Cooperation: European Security as Informal Practice

This book examines how the EU and NATO have worked together informally over the past decade, challenging the notion that such cooperation is obsolete. It uses practice theory to analyze how practitioners engage in informal staff-to-staff contacts, information-sharing, cross briefings, and mutual assistance in headquarters and offices and field missions. The book argues that informal EU-NATO cooperation constitutes a trans-national community of practice that cuts across institutional, mission, professional, and national boundaries, facilitated by shared 'background knowledge'. It will be of interest to students of EU policy, European Security, NATO, international organizations, critical security studies, and IR in general.

Format: Hardback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have engaged in informal cooperation over the past decade, since formal cooperation under the 'Berlin Plus agreement stalled. Despite the perception that EU-NATO cooperation is obsolete and outdated, this book challenges that notion by shedding new light on a range of new informal interaction patterns that exist outside or on the fringe of formal institutions, arenas, meeting formats, and procedures. The book applies practice theory to capture and understand the informal dynamics in EU-NATO relations.

The specific aim of the book is threefold:

First, it seeks to analyze how EU-NATO cooperation has evolved despite the stalemate surrounding formal cooperation under the 'Berlin Plus agreement and framework.

Second, the book aims to add new knowledge to European security and defense studies, bringing concrete knowledge to the fore through a practice theory approach that focuses on where and how interaction is de facto taking place.

Third, the book aims at adding valuable insights to the study of practice in International Relations (IR) in general by using practice theory to understand and explain European security cooperation.

To achieve these aims, the book employs a combined use of qualitative, in-depth interviews with military, civilian, and police personnel, as well as primary and secondary literature. The interviews provide valuable insights into the daily practices and experiences of practitioners engaged in informal staff-to-staff contacts, information-sharing, cross briefings, and mutual assistance in headquarters and offices (Brussels and Mons) and field missions.

While the only 'Berlin Plus mission is in Bosnia and Herzegovina, EU and NATO practitioners engage in informal cooperation on a daily basis in a wide range of areas, including counterterrorism, cyber security, and humanitarian assistance. The book identifies, maps, and analyzes these informal interaction patterns, shedding light on the ways in which EU-NATO cooperation is being conducted outside of formal institutional frameworks.

In conclusion, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of how the EU and NATO have worked together informally over the past decade, challenging the notion that such cooperation is obsolete and outdated. By applying practice theory, the book provides valuable insights into the informal dynamics in EU-NATO relations, contributing to the study of practice in IR in general and to European security and defense studies in particular.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781138849280