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Arming Fortress Europe? Spaces and Instruments of Economic Patriotism in EU Armament Policy
[journal article]
Abstract How does the EU adapt its policies in response to current global changes? Extant scholarship has shed light on the EU's geopolitical turn by analysing it as either a shift away from neoliberalism or a reshuffling of EU-US relations. This article makes the case for studying how these two dynamics int... view more
How does the EU adapt its policies in response to current global changes? Extant scholarship has shed light on the EU's geopolitical turn by analysing it as either a shift away from neoliberalism or a reshuffling of EU-US relations. This article makes the case for studying how these two dynamics interact. To do so, I draw on the economic patriotism framework, which focuses on the links between types and spaces of economic interventionism. Economic patriotism instruments can take various forms depending on their type (liberal/protectionist instruments) and space of reference (national/EU/transatlantic/international). From this perspective, the EU has responded to global changes by shifting from liberal to protectionist instruments of economic patriotism. However, the design of these policy instruments reflects compromises between the preferences of policymakers who adopt liberal/protectionist and Europeanist/Atlanticist positions. As policy instruments can create room for compromise because they allow various positions to converge, EU protectionist economic instruments cater to Atlanticist and liberal preferences too. This article illustrates this argument by means of EU armament policy. Using official documents and interviews, I analyse changes in EU economic patriotism by looking at the two major policy instruments: the 2009 Defence Procurement Directive and the 2021 European Defence Fund. Whereas the 2009 Directive reflected liberal economic patriotism anchored in the transatlantic space, the European Defence Fund illustrates tensions between types and spaces of economic interventionism in the EU's geopolitical turn: Some clauses protect the EU from foreign interference, but its political-economic space of reference remains strongly transatlantic.... view less
Keywords
geopolitics; armaments; security policy; defense policy; Europe; patriotism; international security
Classification
European Politics
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Free Keywords
Common Security and Defence Policy; European geopolitics; Fortress Europe; armament; economic nationalism; economic patriotism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 154-164
Journal
Politics and Governance, 11 (2023) 4
Issue topic
Economic Security and the Politics of Trade and Investment Policy in Europe
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed