Dynamics of Cooperation and Conflict in NATO-EU relations

Abstract

NATO’s supremacy in the security and defence structures of the Euro-Atlantic region during the Cold War era has prevented the development of a self-sustained European security mechanism. With the end of the Cold War, specifically with the St. Malo Summit in 1998 which was a breakthrough in the advancement of the Common Security and Defence Policy, the NATO-EU relationship became pronounced. Since then, opportunities for and difficulties of collaboration have both defined this inter-institutional relationship between NATO and the EU. Despite a series of arrangements for strengthening the institutional framework of NATO-EU relations as well as the Berlin-plus agreements, the argument of an effective cooperation between two organizations would be misguided. Particularly, discrimination against the non-EU NATO allies as well as the existence of challenges such as decoupling and duplication are hampering progress in NATO-EU relations. This article aims at shedding a light on the limited cooperation between these two organizations by focusing on the current challenges.

Keywords

NATO-EU Relations, Berlin-plus, CSDP, Cyprus.

Citation

Akgül Açıkmeşe, Sinem and Cihan Dizdaroğlu, “Dynamics of Cooperation and Conflict in NATO-EU relations”, International Relations, Volume 10, Issue 40 (Winter 2014), pp. 131-163.

Affiliations

• Sinem AKGÜL AÇIKMEŞE, Assoc. Prof., Kadir Has University, Department of International Relations
• Cihan DİZDAROĞLU, PhD Candidate, Kadir Has University, Department of International Relations