Options
Tonra, Ben
Preferred name
Tonra, Ben
Official Name
Tonra, Ben
Research Output
Now showing 1 - 10 of 15
- PublicationResilience and the EU's Global Strategy: The Potential Promise of JusticeThe appearance of ‘resilience’ as a core concept within the EU Global Strategy (EUGS) is a significant focus of scholarly interest while for their part, EU institutions are anxious to put flesh on the bones of that strategy. The aim of this paper is to suggest that far from representing a collapse of European ambition or indeed a ‘middle ground’ position between liberal ambition and realist pragmatism, resilience potentially entails a profound re-engineering of EU foreign policy, serving the cause of an overarching concept of global justice. Such an approach is grounded in reciprocal and accountable relationships in search of ‘fair terms of social cooperation’. It also implies the creation of institutional decision-making and adjudicating fora which are profoundly deliberative in their orientation. This paper will argue that 'resilience' has therefore the potential to be a transformative concept in the design and pursuit of EU foreign policy. It also faces significant challenges, not least where there is profound disagreement or stark choices to be made over foundational principles. Resilience nonetheless opens pathways to perhaps a different kind of EU foreign policy, offering significant added-value to EU member states’ diplomacy.
44 - PublicationConceptualising the European Union's global roleThere has been considerable debate surrounding the nature of the European Union’s international capacity. Early conceptions of the Union as a civilian – or non-military actor – dominated early thinking, characterising the Union as a new kind of international actor (Duchene, 1972). Others, meanwhile (Galtung, 1973; Bull, 1982) argued that this simply sought to make a virtue of weakness and that if the Union were ever to be taken seriously, then it would have to develop a full-spectrum military capacity. That debate, in a somewhat different form, continues today. The ‘civilian power’ thesis (Maull, 1990; Smith, 2005; Stavridis, 2002) has evolved to one in which the Union continues to be posited as a new kind of international actor, but now as one which is somehow uniquely capable or uniquely configured as effective exporter of norms and values in the international system (Manners, 2002; Sjursen 2004). Others insist that only as the Union develops its nascent military capacity can it begin to shoulder real international responsibilities (Smith, 2005; Kagan; Cooper). Within this second debate exist more polemical positions on the adverse, or other, consequences of the ‘militarization’ of the Union’s international profile and transatlantic arguments surrounding a division of labour between the US and EU in delivering ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ security capacity. This paper will outline and critically engage these debates. It will conclude that while the Union remains a distinctive international actor, the trajectory of its development may suggest the pursuit of an ‘enlightened power’ model.
3838 - PublicationTheories, Concepts and SourcesThe purpose of this chapter is to introduce the wider theoretical debates on international relations and foreign policy, assert the importance of historical context when studying foreign policy and show the conceptual issues that need to be clarified when writing on international relations.
168 - PublicationIrish Foreign PolicyAfter decades of disillusionment, the people and government of the Republic of Ireland (hereafter, 'Ireland') have begun to reassess their role and identity in the international system. The Irish state is no longer exclusively defined through its position (mental and geographic) as an 'island behind an island.' While a shared and complex history may always make relationships with Ireland's nearest neighbour problematic, the pursuit of, or flight from, British norms is a decreasing feature of debates in public policy. In its stead is a greater self confidence, an attempt to reach out to other European and small state models and a general ambition to orient the state and its society outwards towards all azimuths rather than eastwards.
1705 - PublicationThe (In)Justices of Peacekeeping EUFOR Tchad/RCAThe goal of this paper is to assess conceptions of justice in the European Union's (EU) military mission (EUFOR Tchad/RCA). In January 2008 the EU launched this 'bridging' military operation in Chad in accordance with the mandate set out in UNSCR 1778 (2007) and alongside the installation of the United Nation's own MINURCAT mission. EUFOR Tchad/RCA's 12 month mission came within the framework of the Union's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The paper will assess the mission's intent and execution in the light of distinct models of global justice and will offer conclusions as to its relative success, most especially in the eyes of local stakeholders.
372 - PublicationLegitimacy and EU security and defence policy: the chimera of a simulacrum (part of the collection “Understanding legitimacy in EU foreign policy”)How can EU defence policy best be grounded in democratic consent and what are the implications for policy makers of alternative models available? This question has to rest at the heart of any consideration of the democratic legitimacy of the European Union’s evolving “common” foreign, security and defence policies – bearing on the “internal input legitimacy” of this special issue. This article considers the European Union’s defence policy and asks where does the democratic legitimacy of such a policy rest and is such legitimation a necessary condition of developing such a policy? Critically, it also assesses the implications for policy making and policy makers, arising from such legitimization by considering the implications of a shift from first to second generation analysis of civil–military relations and the options for strengthening the democratic legitimacy of this policy area as its development accelerates.
216 - PublicationEuropean Security and DefenceIn a world where the global legal order is thin and often fragile, we continue to rely heavily on older legal foundations of territorial sovereignty. In Europe, the very cradle of the Westphalian state model, challenges to that order are all the more shocking. Russia’s decision to annex Crimea—regardless of its perceived geostrategic justification—poses a stark and undeniable challenge to the post-Cold War order. While Russia cannot pose the kind of strategic threat offered at great domestic cost by the USSR, it is a significant regional actor. European states, bilaterally and multilaterally (through the EU, NATO, the OSCE and the Council of Europe), also have a vested interest in restoring normal relations with Russia. However, Russia’s actions towards and within Ukraine are unparalleled in modern times and have forced a fundamental re-evaluation across European foreign and defence ministries of contemporary assumptions about the nature of modern security and European territorial defence.
165 - PublicationBrexit and Irish Security and DefenceBrexit poses fundamental challenges to the Irish state across the public policy spectrum but critically in the area of security and defence. Traditionally, Irish security and defence policy was driven by three interconnected policy goals; territorial defence, aid to the civil power and international security operations. The prospect of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union has placed each of these three security and defence roles into a new context and poses a substantial existential challenge to the Irish state. Each will be reviewed in turn; the impact of Brexit on Irish security and defence policy, the capacity and role of the defence forces, and Ireland’s engagement in EU security and defence – including the prospect of a ‘common defence’. We argue that these three concerns lie at the heart of national existential interests; the survival of the peace process and security on this Island.
248 - PublicationThe Future of EU-UK Security and Defence CooperationThe UK’s departure from the European Union poses many challenges, not least in the field of security and defence. This paper assesses the implications of this for both parties and tries to outline options for a new bilateral partnership. The paper opens with a reminder of the headline contribution that the UK has made and continues to make to European security and defence and its significance as an actor within the Union. It goes on to suggest that Brexit is a lose-lose scenario for both partners, notwithstanding a shared set of security threats and an overall common approach to meeting them. The paper outlines the significant advances in the development of CSDP since the Brexit referendum result and the importance of the Commission’s proposal of new funding to the development of EU member state defence capacities. The paper then reviews options, which have surfaced in the EU and UK respectively to define a new bilateral partnership. The challenges to involving a third-country in EU policy development and execution are examined and the urgent need for the Union and the UK to devise a new – necessarily weaker – relationship is underlined.
45 - PublicationIreland and Collective SecurityThe aim of this chapter is to reconsider Irish foreign, security and defence policy in the light of the State’s 50 - year long commitment to the UN’s system of collective security. It will contrast that commitment with Ire land’s ambivalence towards collective defence and will argue that the ‘neutrality’ debate in Ireland is premised upon a misunderstanding of collective security that has the potential to pose major policy challenges.
89