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Europe Bets on Norms Rather Than on Force
Zaki Laïdi
To cite this version:
Zaki Laïdi. Europe Bets on Norms Rather Than on Force. 2007. �hal-01066092�
1 .
UESI/ON. In your latest booko), y o u w r i t e t h a t E u r o p e w i l l
never be a great power. Why?
First we hove to ogree on whot we meon by o greot power. ïo me, o greot power is o greot civil ond militory power, roughly comporoble to Americon powertodoy ond Chinese power in the future. This seems to me to be o very remote possibility for o number of strucfurol reosons. The first is thot Europe is not o stote but o federotion of notion stotes. Consequently, this meons thot Europe does not reflect the existence of o Europeon people. Às long os there is no notion of Europeon people, there will be no European stote. And os long qs there is no notion of Europeon people, there con be no common representotive of its interests before the world ond its chollenges.
Ànother reoson, which is connected to the first, stems from the foct thot E u r o p e o n s d o n ' t c o n s i d e r t h e m s e l v e s to be the finol guorantors of their own security. Together with fopon, we ore t h e o n l y o n e s i n t h i s s i t u o t i o n . T h e Àmericons, the Chinese, the Russions ond the Brozilions consider themselves to be the finol guorontors of their security.
Europeons tolk o lot obout Europeon forces, moke the Petersberg missions(2) oppeor more importont thon they ore, ond hold forth obout the deployment o f f o r c e s i n À f r i c o . N o n e o f t h i s i s insignificont, but we should not forget
Zoki Loïdi, La Norme sans Ia force. L'énigme de Ia puissance européenne (Norms without force: the enigmo of European power), Sciences Po (Les presses), 2005, p.711.
In o historic decision in'1,992, ot Hotel Petersberg neor Bonn, the Western Europeon Union (WEU) defined o ronge of crisis- monogement missions to which member governments wonted to respond. The "Petersberg missions" include humonitorion ond rescue tosks, peocekeeping ond tosks for combot forces in crisis monogement.
Vof . 4, No. 3,luly 2007
o n e s s e n t i o l p o i n t : m o s t E u r o p e o n n o t i o n s t h i n k t h o t , i n t h e e n d , t h e defence of their own territory is not their responsibility but NATO's ond, in foct, Americo's. This perception hos not been modified, but hos in fact been reinforced, os o result of Europeon enlorgement. The Bolts ond the Poles look to the Americons for their security. The Europeon Union ploys on important role, but its function i s e c o n o m i c , c e r t o i n l y n o t m i l i t o r y . Things could conceivobly chonge over time. But you reolly hove to be French to believe thot "l'Europe-puissonce"- Europe os o power-is inevitoble, or even on ideo thot is moking heodwoy. As long os Europeons don't consider themselves the finol guorontors of their security, ony tolk of "Europe os o power" will remoin merely incontotory. The sixty- four thousond dollor question is whether this ottitude will be tenoble in tomorrow's world-o world in which Chino, Indio o n d R u s s i o c o n s i d e r t h e m s e l v e s th e finol guorantors of their own security.
In todoy's world, only Europe ond fopon find themselves in this situotion.
Q. Nevertheless, hasn't the lraq crisis shown the ability of certain European states to free themselve s from American tutelage?
True. The most spectaculor ospect of the Iroqi offoir is not the French stonce but r o t h e r G e r m o n y ' s e m o n c i p o t i o n . B u t opposing the Americons is evidently not sufficient to formulote o Europeon policy.
Fronce ond Germony foiled to rolly o lot
of countries behind them; in thot respect,
they foiled. Hos this crisis prompted the
Germons to ottoch more importonce to
militory questions ond to moke o more
substontiol effort to strengthen their
defence capobility? Certainly not. The
24
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An Interview with Zaki Laïdi
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m o j o r i t y o f Germons think thot the forther away they get from militory problems, the better off they will be. I om not judging; merely noting o foct.
Lostly, there is o third, historicol, foctor, which there is no getting owoy from: Europe wos creoted in opposition to wor ond militory power. The Europeon project wos founded on the ideo thot wor must be sublimoted. Noturolly, one could think thot the world hos chonged ond thot Europeons hove chonged with it. But I om not so sure. In o woy, the common feoture thot binds Europeons is their reticence to use force ond their tendency to promote norms, which is not in controdiction to the development of o militory force. Besides, these post 15 yeors hove shown thot the use of force hos, when oll is soid ond done, foiled to solve ony problems. Thot's why those who scoff of European noiveté ore not necessorily right. After oll, the greot strotegic event of the lote twentieth century wos the collopse of communism. Yet this collopse w o s n o t brought obout by o wor of conquest, but by the implosion of the system. Let's remember the debote obout t h e H e l s i n k i Accords ond its fomous Bosket III, which wos focused on humon rights. Mony soid thot the Accords were o fool's borgoin between Eost ond West.
It wos indeed o fool's borgoin, but not in the woy they thought. Ideos turned o u t t o be stronger thon missiles. It is this historicol exomple thot leods me to conclude thot purely reolist visions of the world moke no sense.
Possessing o militory instrument is not outomaticolly going to turn Europe into a greot power. It is the purpose to which power is directed thot gives meoning to militory power. I'm ostonished thot this
Vof . 4, No. 3,luly 2007
obvious point is not recognised ond thot we ore still asking ourselves how to build o Europeon force to turn Europe into o greot power.
Q. If, as you argue, European power is based solely on norrns, isn't it condemned to play second fiddle?
It oll depends on how one envisions the world system, on how one looks ot its structure ond chollenges. If you see the world in "reolist" terms, thot is to soy, if you think thot whot counts is the power ond interest of stotes, ond thot their volues, ideos ond opinions don't count, you will be led to think thot Europe does not motter. On the other hond, if you believe thot the world's problems ore never solved by force olone, you will think thot Europe stonds o chonce.
Neither the problems of poverty nor of the environment con be solved through force. The some is true of democrocy, olthough in this oreo motters ore more c o m p l e x . Without externol pressure, regimes do not budge. But pressure olone is not enough. Thot hos been true from the conquest of Egypt to thot of Iroq.
T h u s t h e q u e s t i o n is this: ore we moving towords o world orgonised ond reguloted by norms-which is whot the Europeon project is oll obout-or ore we witnessing the return of realpolitik, with the rise in power of Chino, Indio ond Russio? It is o genuine question. The Europeons ore betting thot internotionol norms con govern the world. Thot is whot they hope, ond it is olso in their interest. But I om not sure thot the other greot stotes shore this vision of the world.
fherein lies the ombiguity of the French
insistence on o "multipolor world". The
French think thot o multipolor world
26
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