Eastern Enlargements and EU Defence Ambitions

ABSTRACT

Despite their common history, Central Europeans have never had a coordinated or consistent position on the issue of European defence and are now, in fact, drifting further apart. Today, some states consider themselves exposed to a threat from Russia while others do not have the same perception and are even moving towards closer cooperation with Moscow. However, the most important factor shaping the positions of Central Europeans is the current, still very loose state of the European Union’s defence policy. As long as the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) remains focused on providing security and stability to other parts of the world and weak on defending the EU area, Central Europeans will refrain from truly committing to it.

KEYWORDS:

• Central Europe
• insecurity
• borders
• NATO
• European Union

Notes

1. For the notions of balancing and bandwagoning see Walt (1985).

2. Parts of this section have been drawn – thoroughly updated, revised and expanded – from M. Zaborowski, Between the Eastern Flank and Mitteleuropa. Visegrad Insight, 9 October 2019. https://visegradinsight.eu/between-the-eastern-flank-and-mitteleuropa/.

3. For an overview of the concept see Lindstrom (2007).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marcin Zaborowski

Marcin Zaborowski is a Lecturer in International Relations at Łazarski University, and former Executive Director of the Polish Institute of International Affairs, both in Warsaw, Poland.